A Pallet Pair
by Veravine
Summary: Who WERE those other two Pallet Town trainers? MY take on them...
1. Default Chapter Title

__

Don'cha hate it when somebody beats you to an idea?

I must_ say here that, although I have been considering this idea for a very long time, I was beaten to the punch by at least two months in actually _writing_ it by the author whose pen name is _Writer's Block_. Seeing his/her idea posted gave me the ridiculous idea that I could actually take the time to write down mine. Be sure to visit his/her stories of _The Other Trainer_. They are very good, but, as he/she actually already covered the problem of the fourth trainer (which is why my series was _originally_ to be titled "4th Trainer", and why I had to change the title), my stories will have nothing to do with his/hers. Originally, I had hoped to give him/her credit for posting this idea first (and, I admit, probably coming _up_ with it first, too) by including mention of his/her character and staying true to the idea of which Pokémon his/her character chose. However, that one bit of fact, by the name of Kyle, has ruined that well-intentioned but futile idea. Instead, I have had to change my current idea into something… well, completely original, and demote what seemed like brilliance at the time into this silly little introduction._

I'm sorry, Writer's Block_. I tried. Now, I'll tell my side of things._

****

S. "Veravine" Kelly

[veravine@aol.com][1]

**__**

A Pallet Pair #1:

Eevee and Remmy

She awoke to the _squawk-squawk-squawk, squawk-squawk-squawk, squawk-squawk-squawk_ of her Dodrio alarm clock long before the real alarm clock of Pallet Town - a _real_ Dodrio - woke everyone else. She leaped out of bed, her head twisting almost painfully fast to look at the calendar. She leaped up, pumping her fist into the air. "Yes, yes, _yes_!" she shouted, not caring who she woke up. Who could sleep in _today_?! She threw a sweatshirt over the tee shirt she'd slept in and tugged her sweat pants a little higher. She ran a quick hand through her shoulder-length, dull brown hair and sat quickly back on her bed, reaching under it at the same time in a desperate search for her sneakers. Finding one, she impatiently jammed it on the wrong foot. With a growl of annoyance, she put it on the correct foot, then fished blindly under her bed for the other one. Where _was_ it?! She had to _hurry_! She _had_ to get there _first_, she just _had_ to!

"Come on, come on!" she snapped at herself as she fumbled to tie her shoelaces. "Move, move, move, move, _move_!"

Her laces tied, she leaped from her bed again, snatched her backpack off her desk chair, then pounded down the stairs. She sprinted through the kitchen, out the door, into the garage, and, snatching her bike from where it leaned against the wall, she ran outside again, not even slowing down as she jumped on her bike and started peddling as hard as she could.

Meanwhile, Nuisance finally picked himself up from where he landed when she knocked him out of the bed. He looked around dazedly, trying to figure out how he ended up on the floor.

*

She pounded on the door impatiently, too hyper to even consider being tired. "Come _on_!" she shouted. "I know you're there! Open up! Come on! Professor!"

There was a vague grumble on the other side of the door, which at last opened to reveal the man she so desperately needed to see. He looked at her through bleary, bloodshot eyes. "Ivy?" he muttered blankly.

"Good morning, Professor Oak!" she cried cheerfully. "Today's the day, you can't turn me away _this_ morning! You promised that I could choose today, so here I am, I'm ready to choose, come on, I want to get started right away, I've been ready to go for two years already, come _on_ Professor, I want my Pokémon _now_!"

*

_Meet Ivonar Marain - "Ivy", to those who don't know she hates being called "Ivy" but is too polite to, or respects too much, to correct._

Twelve years old, brown hair, amber eyes, too much energy and too little of an attention span. She loves challenges, Pokémon, adventure, and having fun. She dislikes bullies, being bored, a certain relation to Professor Oak, and losing. She only sleeps in the rare hours when there isn't something better to do, like late at night or in math class.

Two years ago, Ivonar was prepared to start her Pokémon journey. She was more prepared than any of the other hopefuls that year - over-prepared, even.

But, unlike the other hopefuls, she came down with the flu.

A year later, she was somehow even more_ prepared than she had been a year before. True, she spent most of the time obsessing about what she _should_ have been doing, if she was actually training and not _waiting_ to train, but she took some time to actually study from books and learn a little about what she so desperately wanted to do. She didn't study hard, of course - studying was, no matter what the subject matter, boring, and Ivonar avoided anything boring. But, a year later - actually, eleven months later - she slipped on one of the action figures her younger brother left on the staircase at home and had to wear a cast on her broken leg for nine weeks. Again, she had missed her dream. Her brother gave her a Pokémon he'd caught (by accident, but that's another story) to apologize, but that didn't change the fact that she couldn't walk for nearly three months, much less become a Pokémon trainer._

But not this year. This year, Ivonar was more desperate than ever to finally begin. She did everything her parents told her to do, both to stay healthy and to avoid being grounded at the time of actually becoming a novice trainer. She had walked with care everywhere she went. She avoided all possible bad-luck superstitious situations.

And now, finally, at last, after two years - twenty-four months - one hundred and four weeks - seven hundred and thirty days - seventeen thousand, five hundred twenty hours - one million, fifty-one thousand, two hundred minutes - sixty-three million, seventy-two thousand seconds - finally, she was going to do it!

… well, maybe not that_ long._

She was a little early.

*

Professor Oak groaned. "Ivy, it is five o'clock in the morning."

"I'm ready," she replied cheerfully.

He sighed. "I told the others - _and you_ - that I wasn't going to give anyone Pokémon until 7:30 sharp."

"Oh, _please_, Professor!" she begged.

"Ivy."

"Please!"

He stared at her haggardly. "Ivy, you have been coming here, without fail, every morning, for the last two weeks, at five a.m., begging for your Pokémon."

"But today's the right day!" she pointed out. "You promised to give them to us today!"

He sighed again, yawned, then rubbed his forehead in defeat. "If I give you your Pokémon now," he grumbled, "will you finally let me sleep?"

"Absolutely," she promised. "You won't see me ever again."

"Let's not go that far," he said, smiling a little at his oldest, longest, and easily most eager - if least attentive - student. "Just not before the sun's up."

"Not a problem," she agreed, shaking her head solemnly. "I swear, you will never see me before dawn ever, ever again."

"Fine," he sighed. He opened the door wider. In spite of his sleep-tussled hair, bloodshot eyes, and unshaven chin, Ivonar was still surprised to see that he was still in his pajamas and bathrobe. "This way." He led her into a small room, dominated by a circular table, in which three pokéballs - one marked with a small red flame, one with a little green leaf, and one with a blue drop of water - rested in little scoops. "You have a choice of Bul-"

"Charmander," she said immediately. She'd had two long, agonizing years to wrack her brain about which to pick.

"Charmander," he agreed, picking up the pokéball marked with the flame. He then took a fistful of shrunk-down, unlabeled pokéballs, and held out his full fist to her. She eagerly accepted them, stashing all but one in her backpack. She pressed the button on the front, enlarging it to full size. "This one's a little stubborn," he warned her.

"That's okay," she replied eagerly. "I like challenges."

"I'm sure you're going to have one," he said, nodding a little. He activated the marked ball, allowing its occupant to escape.

With a flare of red light, the little fire lizard Pokémon emerged from its pokéball. It looked around dazedly with innocent-looking green eyes, and the flame on its tail glowed gently, like a large candle. Ivonar was immediately in love. "Oh," she breathed, crouching down to be closer to the creature's eye level, "aren't you so wonderful?"

Now knowing where it was, the dazed expression changed to one of disappointment. The Charmander regarded her with skepticism. "Char?" it asked, its tone suggesting something more along the lines of, "I'm stuck with _her_?"

"Now you behave," Professor Oak said, yawning again.

"Oh, of course it'll behave," Ivonar chided him.

"I meant you." The Charmander snickered. "_No more waking me up_. Have fun, stay safe, take this." He handed her a thin, red device, which looked vaguely like her electronic organizer. "A Pokédex, to help you recognize and catalog all the Pokémon you see."

Ivonar frowned a little. "Do I really need this? I mean, how long have I been stuck _studying_ Pokémon? What does this little doohickey know that I don't?"

"It will also identify you as a trainer. It's a perfectly good source of identification."

"Oh." Shrugging, she shoved it into her pocket. "Anything else?"

"No, no, I think if you go home and get all your gear, you should be all set."

"Thanks, Professor!" Jumping up a little, she kissed him on the cheek. "Thanks a whole bunch!"

He rubbed his cheek, a little surprised. "Yes, of course," he said. "You're welcome, Ivy. And remember!" he called after her as she raced for the door. "You're never to wake me up again!"

"Right, Professor! Thanks again!" The door slammed behind her.

With a sigh, he leaned against the table, putting the empty Pokéball back into its little niche. "Now, maybe I can catch an hour or so nap," he muttered to himself, "before-"

The door slammed open again.

"Hi, Grandpa!" another infuriatingly cheerful voice shouted.

He rubbed his forehead with a groan.

*

She forced herself not to smile smugly as Gary Oak's flashy, chauffeured convertible, complete with small parade of well-wishers and pack of ridiculous cheerleaders, pulled up in front of Professor Oak's. "Good morning, Gary," she called, cinching her backpack higher onto her shoulders. "Up a little early, aren't we?"

The cocky ten-year-old leaped out of the car with a sneer. "Oh, and you're not?" he replied. "It takes a lot to get ahead of me, Old Lady! Don't you start trying it!"

"Old Lady". It was the infuriating nickname Gary had given her this year, because she was older than the other three trainers-to-be. The others had laughed with him. Stupid boys. It didn't matter that they were two years older than her brother: they sure didn't act it. She'd show them.

"Whoever said I started?" she asked innocently, brushing passed him. She stood among his groupies as he went into the building. "Hi, Grandpa!" she heard him call before he shut the door halfway.

She imagined what was being said.

"Aren't you here early, Gary?" Professor Oak would ask.

"Well, you know me, Grandpa," Gary would reply. "I can't wait to get started. And I couldn't let _anyone_ get started before I did."

"Well, surprisingly enough, Gary, you're not the first one here," Professor Oak would tell him. "Ivy got here at five o'clock, can you believe that?"

Obviously, what she imagined was close to what happened, because, just as Professor Oak's second probable statement went through her mind, the eager crowd was silenced as Gary's strident scream of "WHAT?!" rang through the early morning air.

*

Still grinning, even after the bike ride home, Ivonar walked into the kitchen. Her mother smiled at her amongst her curlers. "Good morning, Eevee," she greeted her, using the nickname she greatly preferred. "You're up early again. You didn't go and bug Professor Oak about giving you your starter Pokémon early again, did you?"

"I didn't get there long before Gary Oak did," Ivonar replied, dodging the question as she opened the refrigerator. She pulled out the milk, and a bagel. "But I got my Charmander!"

"Congratulations," her mother said. "But I really wish you hadn't been so rude to the Professor. He's a very nice man, Ivonar. I don't like it that you spent the last two weeks getting him up at such a ridiculous hour."

Ivonar fell into her chair. "You're up, aren't you?"

"I have to feed you," Mrs. Marain pointed out. She looked grimly at Ivonar's bagel. "Is that _really_ what you want for breakfast?"

"Yup." She poured herself a glass of milk, then began munching on the raw bagel. "You know I don't like fancy breakfasts."

"I could very easily fix you some pancakes, or maybe waffles-"

"Not this morning, Mom. Thanks, but I'm okay."

Her mother leaned her chin against her fist. "Eevee, I'm worried."

Ivonar rolled her eyes. "Mom, the others are ten years old. Their mothers aren't worried."

"Aren't _worried_? You obviously haven't been _near_ any of them! Mrs. Oak has been in denial, what's-his-name - that red-haired kid - _his_ mother has been crying for almost a month! And Mrs. _Ketchum_! Mrs. Ketchum's on the verge of a total mental meltdown! Don't tell me the other mothers aren't worried, Ivonar! I _know_ they're worried!"

"Okay, okay!" Ivonar cried, holding up her hands - her bagel in one, her glass in the other. "Point taken! They're worried! But their sons are _ten years old_, Mom. They're kids! I'm twelve. I'm not a little kid anymore."

"That's what you said when _you_ were ten," Mrs. Marain pointed out.

"Yeah…" Ivonar admitted sheepishly, then added, "but I'm a girl. Girls are always more mature than boys."

"Always, huh?" Mrs. Marain asked skeptically.

Just then, Toby Marain pounded down the stairs, raced into the room, snatched Ivonar's bagel out of her hand, slammed it into her glass of milk, stuck his tongue out at her, and ran back upstairs, laughing.

"Do you need further proof than _that_?" Ivonar replied, pointing a finger after her brother. She fished her bagel out of her glass, and frowned sadly at it. She put it back in the glass. She sighed, then, getting up, poured the entire contents of her glass into a bowl on the floor. "I think I'll take you up on the waffles. I have to get dressed," she said. "_Manx_!" she yelled. "Milk, Manx! Come get some milk!"

The sound of quick, but almost silent, padding feet sounded in the hardwood floored living room, and the tall, graceful Persian hurried into the room. Its beauty was marred, however, by the oddest thing.

It had no tail.

The story was so old to Ivonar that she didn't give the tailless Pokémon a second glance as she turned away and went back upstairs. She knew, too well, how her mother had found the poor, bleeding Meowth years ago, torn up and tailless from a fight with a mean Growlithe. How, when he evolved into a Persian, his tail hadn't grown back, making it so his name - Manx - still fit him.

"Hmm," Mrs. Marain said to herself, giving the Pokémon's head a gentle rub as she passed him to get to the cupboard. "Maybe…"

*

"Ha, ha, ha, ha! Nanny-nanny-nanny!"

Ivonar rolled her eyes as she went up the last step. "Toby!" she shouted. "Are you annoying Nuisance again?"

"Nanny-nanny-nanny!"

She stomped into her room. Sure enough, there was her brother, being a pain.

"Bad enough you wrecked my breakfast!" she shouted at him. "Leave Nuisance alone!"

"I gave him to you!" he shouted back. "I can do what I want!"

"You gave him to me because you broke my leg!" she retorted. "And just because you gave him to me doesn't give you any right to be mean! Get out of my room!"

"It's my house, too!"

"But it's _my_ room! Now _get out_!" He stuck his tongue out at her. "Daddy!" she shouted. "Toby won't get out of my room again!"

"Toby, get out of her room," a voice called from the bathroom.

"And he's being mean to Nuisance again!"

"Toby, don't be mean to Nuisance," the voice called.

"Toby won't get out of my room," Toby mimicked Ivonar in a squeaky voice.

"_Daddy_!"

Sticking out his tongue one last time, Toby raced out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

Ivonar sighed. "Oh," she crooned, kneeling down. "Was he being mean to you again, poor little guy?" She pulled her pet - _hers_, not like Manx, who was considered her mother's pet, especially since he and Ivonar were on strictly "don't bug me, don't bug you" terms - to her in a tight hug. "My poor, poor Nuisance," she said, rocking him back and forth. "Nobody appreciates you, do they?" He stared blankly at her. "But I do," she assured him, letting him go. "I've been thinking." He merely watched her, his blank stare unwavering. She went to her closet to get something to wear besides what she'd slept in. "I can't leave you here, can I? Daddy's such a scatterbrain he'd _never_ feed you, Mom has a hard enough time keeping finicky old Manx happy and dealing with Toby, and Toby…!" She shuddered. "How could I leave you alone with _him_? All he does is tease you. He's so mean." She got out of the closet again, all set in jeans, her sneakers, her favorite shirt, and, to keep her mother happy, a sweater. As an afterthought, she turned to her dresser, getting her hairbrush, and got her hair to at least stop sticking up. Finally, she turned back to her best friend and worst headache. "Well?" she asked, kneeling down again. She ruffled the feathers on his head. "You want to come with me?"

His stare was no less blank than it ever was, but she'd long ago learned to read his "voice".

"Psy ai!" he agreed.

"Great!" she cried, hugging him again. "Okay, so you're going to have to meet… um… the Charmander." She looked around. "Oh, great, I left my pack downstairs!" she cried. "Toby better not have touched it!" Picking up Nuisance - what Toby had first called the Pokémon he'd caught, and given to her (in apology for leaving his toy right where she stepped on it) a mean name that unfortunately stuck - with a grunt, she hurried from the room.

*

Manx eyed the Psyduck as he finished the milk and bread mixture in his bowl.

Nuisance watched the tailless Persian warily, though his staring eyes didn't reveal just how closely he was watching the cat.

Nobody was paying any attention to what either of them were doing.

"But Mom, please! Why _can't_ I take Nuisance? He _is_ a Pokémon!"

"Why would you _want_ to?" Toby demanded around a mouthful of waffle. "He can't _do_ nothing!"

"Do anything," Mrs. Marain corrected him gently.

"No, I mean do _nothing_! He can't even do _nothing_ right, much less _anything_!" Toby grinned at what he thought was very smart.

"You leave Nuisance alone!" Ivonar snapped.

"Toby _does_ have a point, Eevee," Mr. Marain said from behind the paper. It was impossible to see the face of Mr. Marain before he had showered, shaved, and read the paper, and even then catching him without his face hidden behind something was very unlikely. "You never taught Nuisance any attacks. He's strictly a pet."

"I don't want to leave him _here_!" she whined, putting down her fork. "Daddy, please! How can I sleep without having Nuisance on my feet? I won't be able to!"

"You did for ten years," Mrs. Marain pointed out.

"But not once since Toby gave him to me!" Ivonar insisted. "I'll teach him attacks, I swear! _Please_? How can I leave for _months_ without taking Nuisance?"

Mrs. Marain frowned behind her coffee mug. "Bad enough I have to worry about you," she said. "I don't want to have to worry about Nuisance, too."

"You won't _have_ to!" Ivonar cried. "He'll be with me! I've always taken care of him, haven't I? You've _never_ had to deal with him since Nuisance became mine. I've always fed him, cleaned him, kept him happy, cleaned up after him… you've never had to do anything for him! You don't know what he likes and what he doesn't! If he stays with me he'll be happier!"

Mr. Marain sighed. "Why don't we let Nuisance decide?" he suggested. "He may look stupid-"

"Daddy!" Ivonar snapped. Toby snorted, trying not to squirt orange juice out of his nose.

"-but he is smart, in his own way."

Mrs. Marain did her best to smile at Nuisance, but she had never become comfortable with the way he never blinked - at least, not while she was looking. "What do _you_ think, Nuisance?" she asked sweetly. "Would you rather stay here in the nice, warm, safe, dry house with me and Daddy and Toby, or would you rather go with Ivonar in the cold, empty, dangerous-"

"Mom…" Ivonar warned her as she picked up her fork again.

"- which would you rather, hmm?"

Nuisance seemed to frown a little. "Psy?"

Toby snickered. "You talked too long, Mom. He forgot what you said."

"He did not! He's thinking," Ivonar snapped.

With a final, wary glance at Manx, Nuisance walked around the kitchen table to hug Ivonar's leg. "Duck," he said firmly, rubbing his cheek against her calf.

"It's settled," Mr. Marain said, turning a page in the paper. "Nuisance goes with Eevee. I'd suggest he go in a pokéball, though."

Toby and Ivonar traded looks. Neither of them had yet discovered how their father could tell what was going on when he couldn't see it around his paper.

"Manx should go, too," Mrs. Marain said. The Persian looked up at the sound of his name.

"_What_?" Ivonar demanded, dropping her fork with a clatter. "Mom! How can I take _Manx_?"

"He's strong, _and_ he's trained," Mrs. Marain said firmly.

"_And_ I won't have to feed him anymore," Toby added.

Mrs. Marain glanced disapprovingly at her son. "If you're going to take an untrained… well, nuisance, like Nuisance-"

"He is _not_ a nuisance!" Ivonar cried. Nuisance looked around, completely confused by how many times people seemed to be saying his name in ways that made no sense. Ivonar grimaced. "No matter what his name is," she muttered, pouting.

"Maybe not," Mrs. Marain conceded, "but he's untrained and isn't going to be much of a help. I think you should take Manx to balance him out."

"But Mom!"

"No buts. If you want to take Nuisance, you have to take Manx."

"But we already decided that Nuisance was going!"

"Don't argue with me! You take that Psyduck, you take Manx."

Ivonar's shoulders fell. She decided that she should be thankful for a compromise, not an adamant "no". "Okay," she sighed. "But _he_ has to stay in a pokéball, too." She glared at the Persian, who looked at her smugly, then looked pointedly at her fresh glass of milk. "And he had _better_ behave." She renewed her glare. "And _no_, you _aren't_ getting _this_ glass. Go bug Toby - he's the reason you got the first one."

With a huffy grunt of "Gin!", Manx flopped down on the floor, half of him under the table. His tail would have been draped across the floor, asking to get tripped on, if he had one. He rested his chin on his paws. Already, he had a bad feeling about this.

When Ivonar finished breakfast, she dug into her pack, pulling out the one enlarged pokéball. "Here it is!" she crowed. "My little Charmander." She pressed the button on the front, releasing its occupant.

"Wow, cool!" Toby cried. He jumped up, to look over the table.

The Charmander looked around, as it had before, looking for dangers and familiarity alike. It barely glanced at Nuisance, but its eyes lingered on Manx. Manx stared right back, wondering at this new intruder in his domain.

Bad enough the stupid duck: he was harmless. This thing wasn't. He kept wary eyes focused on the lizard's flaming tail. Realizing that, the Charmander waved its tail warningly, making the flame flare up. Manx remained where he was, half under the table.

"It's a very nice Charmander, Eevee," Mr. Marain said. He turned back a page in his paper.

"What's its name?" Toby asked.

Ivonar drew a blank. "Umm… it's named… uh…"

The Charmander looked at her skeptically. "Char?" it urged her.

"Yeah!" she cried. "Mom, Daddy, Toby, this is Char."

The Charmander rolled its eyes. "Man…"

"What?" she demanded. "You don't want to be called Char? You have a _better_ idea?"

"It can only say three syllables," Mrs. Marain pointed out. "Maybe it'd prefer being called Man, or Der."

Toby snickered. "Yeah, name it Der! Or, how about _Duh_? Huh? It'd be perfect! Nuisance and Duh!" He giggled.

"Shut up!" Ivonar snapped.

"Char!" the Charmander snapped. Flame burst from its mouth, blazing right in Toby's face.

"Char! Bad Charmander!" Mrs. Marain shouted. Surprised, the Charmander stopped.

"Whoa," Ivonar breathed, startled. "Char already knows flame-thrower?" She grinned at her brother's soot-covered, only minorly scalded face. "Cool."

"Shut up," Toby muttered.

Ivonar was still grinning as she pressed the button on the pokéball again. "Okay, Char, back you go," she said. Char avoided the beam. "Hey!" It stuck its tongue out at her, crossing its forelegs stubbornly. "What's your problem? Why won't you go into the ball?"

Char merely pouted. "Char, char!" it grumbled in reply.

"Sounds offended, to me," Mr. Marain said.

"Offended?" Ivonar echoed. "Why would it be offended?"

"_Char_!" Char snapped, pouting.

"Is it a boy or a girl?" Toby asked. Then he smiled wickedly. "Because girls are stupid. You'd better have gotten a boy."

"Char…man…_der_!" Char shouted, blasting him with another flare of fire.

"Not in the house, little lady!" Mrs. Marain scolded Char. Char closed her mouth, cringing a little.

"Probably being called 'it'," Mr. Marain suggested, reaching around his paper for his mug of coffee. "I wouldn't like that much, myself."

"Charmander," Char agreed with a nod.

"I'm sorry, Char," Ivonar apologized.

Char shrugged a little. "Char."

"_Now_ will you go in the pokéball? I want to get started!"

Char looked at her out of the corner of her eye. The message was clear:

_Don't expect me to _stay_ in there_.

But, just as the message was sent via glare, Char turned into a beam of red light, and returned to her pokéball.

"Okay," Ivonar sighed, going into her pack for more of the balls. "Now for the other two."

*

It took three seconds to get Nuisance into a ball. It took over an hour before Manx could be lulled to sleep with a belly full of hamburger before he got into one.

"Mom, how am I going to train with Manx if he won't obey?" Ivonar asked, nursing a four-inch long cut on her arm. Manx had decided to be rough when she decided to start shouting at him. She'd quickly learned that shouting only led to bloodshed with that stupid Persian - _her_ blood - but sometimes, it seemed like shouting would be the only thing that would work. Not that it ever did, but she was hoping, someday…

"He'll behave," Mrs. Marain told her, as if that would automatically make him do it.

"Uh-huh," Ivonar said, not at all convinced.

"Oh, be optimistic. I bet none of the boys have caught a single Pokémon yet, and you already have three. You already have three times as many Pokémon as any of them."

"I have Char, Nuisance, and a _real_ nuisance," Ivonar corrected her. "I think I'm _worse_ off. Do I _have_ to take Manx?" Her mother didn't need to answer that with words: one glare said enough. Ivonar's shoulders slumped in defeat. She got onto her bike, her supplies jammed into the wire paper route baskets that hung off either side of the back. Her sleeping bag was lashed to the seat, balanced on top of everything else so it wouldn't get caught in her back wheel. "Okay, okay, okay." She leaned over to give her mother a kiss good-bye. Toby waved from the doorway. Mr. Marain was still at the table, finishing his paper. "Tell Daddy I said goodbye, okay?" she asked as she put on her helmet.

"I will." Mrs. Marain grimaced, blinking quickly.

"Oh, Mom." Ivonar shook her head. "_Please_ don't cry, okay? Please? Bad enough I have to take Manx. Don't cry."

"I was glad you didn't go these last two years," Mrs. Marain said tearfully, not yielding to her daughter's pleading. "I'm going to miss you!" She crushed Ivonar in a bear hug. "Now you be sure to stay clean, and feed Nuisance, and let Manx out every few hours so he can stretch, and don't ignore Char, and-"

"Mom."

Mrs. Marain bit her lip. "I'm missing you already."

"I'm not going to get anywhere if you keep telling me what you've tried telling me for two straight years, Mom. Relax." Ivonar smiled. "I'll be fine. You'll see. I'll call whenever I can."

"You'd better." Ivonar shifted her weight, getting both feet on the pedals, and started off. Mrs. Marain waved, and waved, and waved, long after she had disappeared from sight.

"Even when there's a delay," she murmured to herself, "they grow up much too fast."

*

"Hey, Eevee, wait up!"

Ivonar groaned, and peddled harder. No _way_ was she waiting!

"Eevee! Hey, come on, Ivonar! IVONAR!"

She peddled as hard as she could, leaning over the handlebars.

"Ivonar! Come on!"

"Good luck, Remmy!" she shouted, peddling even harder. She glanced over her shoulder- and nearly tipped.

No way!

Just behind her, the ten-year-old ran, his feet seeming allergic to the ground; if she hadn't known any better, she'd say he was flying. She hit the brakes, skidding ten feet before she stopped. He was able to stop in two. "What's the idea?" he asked, grinning. "Trying to lose me?"

"Wishful thinking, huh?" she retorted, slipping off her helmet.

"Where are you headed?" he asked, hiking his big knapsack higher onto his back.

"Where else? Viridian. I'm going to get a few more Pokémon than what I've got."

"Probably a good idea. Mind if I tag along?"

Ivonar sighed. "Listen, Remmy," she said, glaring at him, "bad enough my mom was going to _ground_ me if I didn't take our stupid Persian along-"

"You're starting with _two_ Pokémon?" he asked, his eyebrows shooting up.

"Well… three, actually. Char, Manx, and Nuisance."

Remmy chuckled. "Nuisance?"

"My pet Psyduck."

"Oh." He shrugged a little. "All I have is the Bulbasaur I got. I wanted the Squirtle, but Gary took that. I wonder what Ash got. There were only three pokéballs."

Ivonar shrugged a little. "I'm sure Professor Oak had _something_ to give him," she said. "Why do you want to tag with me?"

"Two - or four, I guess - are better than one, right?" he replied. "I mean, sure, I thought you'd agree, since we'd both be starting with two Pokémon, but I guess that isn't true, huh."

"You wanted to work together?" Ivonar asked, raising an eyebrow.

Remmy rolled his eyes. "Gary's going off on his own," he said. "I mean, he couldn't _possibly_ accept the idea of teaming up with a lower lifeform, right?" Ivonar smiled in spite of herself. "And Ash is too wrapped up in his own dream world of being a Pokémon master in a day." He tilted his head back, looking up at the sky, and sighed. "Okay, it's simple. My parents want me out. They want me gone. They say 'GO!', throw a backpack on me, and slam the door."

"What?" Ivonar demanded.

"They think I'm nuts," he said. "They think _every_ kid wants to be a Pokémon trainer."

She frowned. "You don't?"

He shook his head. "Nah. I like Pokémon, sure, but not _that_ much. I figure I'll stay out for a month or so, you know? Just enough to get some time away from home and out of my parent's hair, then come back and say it's too hard."

"What _do_ you want to do?" she asked, surprised.

He shrugged. "I'm ten. I'm supposed to know _now_?"

Ivonar frowned a little. Remmy - a.k.a. Joey Remshaw, but everybody called him Remmy (except Mrs. Marain, who, without fail, referred to him as "that red-haired kid") - was okay as far as boys his age did - he wasn't stuck-up like Gary Oak, or, as he'd pointed out, spaced-out in dreams of grandeur, like Ash Ketchum. He was smart (every once in a while), though he tended to be too honest. And, every once in a while, he'd say something totally weird for no reason. He was tolerable, but…

"Why?" she asked.

He shrugged a little again. Then he grinned. That was another slightly strange thing about Remmy: he didn't smile. He either looked serious, or he grinned. With him, there was no in between.

"A month on my own?" he said, sounding doubtful.

"So?" she retorted. "If Gary and Ash can do it, why can't you?"

He laughed. "Gary?"

She rolled her eyes. "Okay, not Gary. But Ash'll be on his own. If he can do it, half-there as he is, you'll have no problem."

He sighed. "I don't want to _do_ this," he insisted. "And I _really_ don't want to do it alone, okay?" He held up his hands. "I am _not_ scared."

She shook her head solemnly. "Of course not."

"I just don't want to go alone."

"I understand."

"So you won't mind?"

"Sure. No problem." Before he could grin again, she put her helmet back on and started peddling. "You just have to keep up!"

   [1]: mailto:Veravine@aol.com



	2. Default Chapter Title

**__**

A Pallet Pair #2:

Eevee's Eevees

Joey Remshaw - better known to everyone as "Remmy" - woke up to trees, and an odd, growlish sound.

He stared up at the trees calmly, the corners of his mouth turned up in what wasn't quite a smile. He listened lazily to the sound of Pidgeys chirping, of Caterpies squeaking, of Beedrills buzzing far away, Spearows arguing among themselves much closer by, and Nuisance, Ivonar's Psyduck, snoring softly to himself. Those gentle sounds, and that odd, growlish noise, were all there was to disturb him.

No Mom, to rush him out of bed and rush him around the house and rush, rush, rush. No Dad to rush, and rush, and rush, and generally ignore his son. No, there was no rush here. Just the sounds of Pokémon in early morning.

The day before hadn't been so bad. He'd raced after Ivonar most of the morning, probably scaring her with how fast he was. It came with having parents who rushed so much. He had to keep up with them. That wasn't what he said, of course.

Actually, he hadn't had to say anything, because she hadn't asked.

The two of them had kind of taken turns catching the Pokémon they found: he'd given the first Pidgey to her, and then she'd insisted he get the second. They each caught a Spearow at the same time, by having Manx, Char, and his Bulbasaur - who he had yet to name - team up on them, three to three. One of the Spearows had gotten away, but the other two were theirs. There'd been some argument about who got to keep the Caterpie: Ivonar had seen it first, but it was the Bulbasaur's Vine Whip that finally caught it. Ivonar insisted that he should keep it, because his Pokémon won: he insisted that she had seen it first, and besides, he wasn't really interested in this. She thought she'd finally won by saying that, if he didn't take it, he may as well let it go.

He said okay, and did.

In the end, Ivonar had the Caterpie.

He looked around without getting up. To his left, on the other side of the smoldering ash that remained of last night's fire, he could see Ivonar's back. Nuisance lay on his stomach across her feet: Remmy could see his head resting on his side of Ivonar; a small bubble of spit inflated and deflated with Nuisance's snores. "Psy…" he inhaled, his tone going up, like a question. "Psy…" he exhaled, like a sigh. Over and over, a gentle, slightly nasal whine. Remmy smiled in spite of himself.

Looking the other way, he was a little startled to see that Manx was out of his pokéball. He lay on his stomach, too, but, unlike Nuisance or Ivonar, he was as awake as Remmy was. His back looked… crooked. He glanced at Remmy, then returned to rasping his harsh, sandpaper-like tongue against his forepaw. The growl-like sound was a rough purr coming from the Persian's throat.

"You sound proud of yourself," he said to the tailless Persian.

Manx looked at him again, pausing his toiletry once more. His purr stuttered. The corners of his mouth seemed to turn up just slightly, the same way Remmy's mouth was turned up - something vaguely like a smile, but not really one. He lifted the other paw, just slightly.

A little purple nose stuck out. It wiggled, trying to free itself, but Manx put his paw back down.

With a little groan, Remmy slid out of his sleeping bag. He went around the dead fire and shook Ivonar's shoulder. "Eevee?"

"Oh, you're up?" She turned her head to look at him. "Didn't realize. I didn't want to wake Nuisance by rolling over."

"Oh." He looked back toward the Persian. "Manx is out."

"I let him out before I fell asleep."

"Oh," he said again. Then he added, "He caught something."

"He did?" Ivonar kicked one of her feet slightly, rolling Nuisance off her feet. He rolled onto his back, totally oblivious. She slipped out of her sleeping bag and hurried over to where Manx was. "I was hoping you'd go home," she told him bluntly.

"Jir?" he replied in a vague sneer, as if to say, _Yeah, so?_

"What've you got there?" she demanded, crossing her arms.

His purr stumbled to a halt. With a pout and a sharp snort, he lifted himself off the ground, then put his front paws heavily on the tail of what he'd caught.

The Rattata glared at him. "_Rattata_!" it hissed angrily.

"Per-_sian_!" he snarled back. It cowered, using its little white paws to push its purple ears over its bright red eyes.

Ivonar looked at Manx, surprised. "You caught a Rattata for me?" Manx snorted again. He nudged her hand with his nose. She tickled him behind the ears. "You're in a good mood this morning." She looked at Remmy. "Want a Rattata?"

He shook his head. "Manx caught it."

She rolled her eyes. "Not _this_ again." She looked at him with a little more annoyance. "I'm up to my six. I don't need anymore right now."

He shook his head again. "Manx would've given it to me if he wanted to." Manx made an odd, _schnuff_ sound out his nose, nodding in agreement.

She sighed. "Fine. Fine! I'll send your Caterpie to Dr. Oak." She dredged her Pokédex out of her pocket. "I guess this thing'll have _some_ uses," she muttered to herself, tapping a few keys to transfer the Pokémon. There was a brief flash of light in her backpack. She wandered back to it, taking out an empty pokéball. She also took out the belt she'd made over last summer - one with six small pouches sewn onto it. Taking her five occupied pokéballs, she put them into the pouches - first Char's, then Nuisance's, then Manx's, then Pidge's (as she'd decided to name her Pidgey "Pidge"), then Ro's (as she'd decided to name her Spearow "Ro") - leaving the last empty for-

"Come 'ere, Ratzy!" she shouted, hurling the ball across the fire. Remmy stepped slightly backwards (entirely unnecessarily, but just in case), and Manx reared on his hind legs to get out of the way. After spending half a night under a heavy Persian, the newly christened "Ratzy" was only too happy to go into a nice, safe pokéball.

"Happy now?" Ivonar asked Remmy bitterly.

"What?" he asked, confused.

She shrugged slightly. "I dunno. It just doesn't seem right."

"Ratzy. Cute name."

She shrugged a little. "They just come to me. Except Nuisance's, of course. My brother named him."

"What would you have named him?"

She shrugged. "I didn't have to, did I? Besides, he seems to like it." She looked at him and shook her head a little. He was still snoring, the spit bubble getting bigger and smaller as he breathed in and out, going "Psy… psy… psy… psy…" "Come on, Nuisance," she said, digging his pokéball out of its pouch. "You can sleep on the way." He didn't even notice as he returned to his pokéball. "You too, Manx." Manx stared at her, growling softly under his breath. He sat down with his shoulders hunched up, looking hurt. "Fine. Since you caught Ratzy, you can stay out, but you have to stay with me, understand?" He sat up straight, but otherwise didn't do anything. "You are _so_ hopeless." He sneezed. She rolled her eyes, then returned to her side of the fire to roll up her sleeping bag.

*

After a quick breakfast of bagels for the two humans and milk for them and Manx (they planned to finish the milk at lunch, so it wouldn't go bad; Remmy's mother had packed it, though neither of them could figure out what she'd been thinking, exactly), they set off again. Ivonar was on her bike, going more slowly this time so that Remmy had to jog easily, instead of sprint, after her, on one side, while Manx kept up a steady trot on her other side. They went on for about an hour without incident, or much talking. Unlike the day before, the woods seemed void of visible Pokémon. They passed a nest of Pidgeys, but since they both already had one, they didn't bother stopping for them.

About an hour later, the route became a little less scenic and a little more treacherous. Ruts and ditches made biking harder. "It feels like an earthquake," Ivonar said, her voice shaking as she went in and out of shallow ditches as she swerved to avoid other, deeper ditches.

"It'd probably just be easiest if you walked," Remmy pointed out, keeping up easily now, even though he was walking.

"I gue- ahh!" she began, when her luck ran out, and her front tire caught against an upraised, deeply rooted rock. She pitched forward, over her handlebars. Her head smashed against another rock. "Oww…" she whimpered.

Remmy crouched down beside her. "Are you okay?" he asked.

"Thank goodness for helmets," she replied shakily. She removed hers, to rub her head. "I'll just have a bump instead of a hole." Then she stopped moving entirely. "Do you hear that?"

"Hear what?" he asked softly, freezing too. He held his breath.

Manx tilted his ears forward, then a little to the right. He heard what his trainer did, too. He licked his lips, then stalked into the bushes.

"Manx, stop!" Ivonar snapped at him, but it was no use. His tailless backend disappeared. With a growl she followed him on her hands and knees. A little confused, Remmy crawled after her.

The sound became more clear as the three crawled through the bushes. It was a high pitched cry of several tiny, tinny voices, sad, pitiful little cries for help.

"Eevee!" they cried. "Eevee!"

Recognizing the call, Ivonar shoved Manx's tailless end with her hand. "Hurry up!" she hissed at him. He stopped, turning his head to look at her, and hissed in return. Then he continued on, even slower, to spite her. She grumbled under her breath.

"I didn't think there were Eevees in Viridian Forest," Remmy whispered.

"There shouldn't be," Ivonar replied. "But those are definitely Eevees."

"Definitely," he agreed.

Finally, Manx stopped. He pawed at a dugout hole in the ground. "Stop it, Manx!" Ivonar snapped at him. "Move over!" She shoved him aside, looking into the hole.

"Ooh!" she crooned.

Inside, in a mixed-up bundle of little legs and big ears and fluffy tails, four young Eevees tumbled and mewed over each other. "Eevee!" they cried mournfully, sometimes alone, sometimes together.

"Where's their mother?" Remmy whispered, shoving against a bush to make room near the mouth of the den so he could look, too.

"I don't know," Ivonar said, frowning. "She should be here. The poor things are shouting so much." She picked one up, then gasped. "It's skin and bones!"

"_Eeeeveeeee_!" the Eevee in her hands mewed pitifully. It had full-grown ears and paws, giving it a somewhat comical appearance, but where its body should have been pudgy and cute in its youth, its ribs were easily visible.

"These guys are barely weaned," Remmy said, picking another one up. "Where _is_ their mother?"

"The poor things are starving," Ivonar said softly. She held the one she'd picked up close to her body. "And cold." She ran a soft hand against its knobby back. "The poor things…"

Manx snorted, sniffing the air. He growled slightly. "What is it?" Ivonar asked him. He cowered slightly in reply. His ears flattened to his skull. "What's wrong?" He flared his nose, and his ears flattened even more. He bared his teeth a little. Then he ducked his head into the den, pulled a third little Eevee out, and started cleaning its head and ears. It mewed at him. The last one in the den started crying even louder, afraid to be alone.

Remmy took the last Eevee out of the den, holding it with its sibling in one arm while he tickled their ears simultaneously. "What's wrong with Manx?"

"I think he smells something bad," Ivonar replied. She put the Eevee she was holding down, then crawled passed the den, out of the bushes. She sniffed. Yes, there was something slightly rotten to the air. She followed the scent as best she could, into another bush not far away.

She screamed, getting out of the bush as fast as she could.

She hurried back, then knelt next to the den.

"What's wrong?" Remmy asked. "Why'd you yell?"

Picking up the Eevee she'd been holding, and the one whose ears Manx had cleaned, Ivonar scowled. "Let's go."

"What?" Remmy asked, confused. "We can't just _take_ them!"

Ivonar nodded. "We have to."

"Why? What's wrong?"

Ivonar swallowed heavily, trying not to cry. "They'll starve if we don't."

"What about their mother? Ivonar, we can't just-"

"I found their mother, all right?" she snapped at him. "And she-" She choked. She covered it by bringing one of the little Eevees up to her mouth and kissing it on the top of the head. "She can't take care of them anymore," she said softly. Tucking both Eevees in the crook of her left arm, she crawled, one-handed, away from the abandoned den.

*

Needless to say, the half-starved young Eevees didn't let the milk last until lunch. Between the four, every drop was lapped up in less than a minute. Surprisingly, Manx didn't begrudge them their treat. Instead, he sat a short distance away, watching them closely.

"Don't look now," Remmy told Ivonar quietly, "but I think Manx's a little attached."

Ivonar grinned. "Isn't it great? He's adopted them already."

Manx glanced at them, snorted a little, then returned to watching the Eevees.

"Or maybe he just wanted the milk," she said, shrugging a little.

Remmy grinned. "I've been wondering," he said, "why _do_ people call you 'Eevee'?"

"Well, a couple reasons," Ivonar replied, wrapping an index finger in her shoulder-length brown hair. "When I was little - like, five or six - Eevee was my favorite Pokémon. Because of that, and because of my hair color, my mom started calling me her little Eevee. And, ever since, Eevee has stuck."

"When you were five or six? What's your favorite Pokémon now?"

She grinned. "You have to ask?" She patted the second pouch on her belt. "Nuisance, of course!"

Manx snorted.

"Oh, like you ever did anything to endear yourself," she retorted to his wordless comment.

The Eevees started mewing again, less urgently this time. One jumped on another, and the two tumbled a few feet before coming to a stop, the tackled one on top. They started to play around, seeing who could pounce on who. Manx watched the two carefully, even as he reached out with one paw, snagged one of the other two, and pulled it closer, to where he could start cleaning splashed milk off of its face and oversized ears. The fourth jumped on the one who had tackled the first one, nipping its tail. "Eee!" the bitten one squeaked in surprise. The first took advantage of its sibling's distraction to tackle it.

"They're going to be a handful," Remmy said, grinning. "But can we really put them into pokéballs?"

"I wouldn't want to," Ivonar said. "They're awful young - we can't battle them. And they're so cute! I don't want to send them home to Professor Oak." She knelt down, pulling one of the three wrestlers out of the game. She hugged it close, rubbing her chin against its head.

"Eevee!" it grumbled, struggling a little, then calmed down. It closed its eyes and purred a little when Ivonar started tickling it under the chin.

"What are they?" Remmy asked. A spontaneous, two-minute game of tag gave an even count: two males, and two females. Remmy grinned. "You're the one with the gift," he said. "What are the Eevee's names, Eevee?"

"You be quiet," she scolded him, then hugged the Eevee she was holding. Then she held him out in front of her. She giggled. "Look at your tail!" she laughed. Remmy laughed, too - it was bushed straight out, the fur stiff and bristly. "You be Static." She looked down at two who were wrestling - the other male, and the bigger female. The other male, unlike his brother and sisters - in fact, unlike any Eevee Remmy had ever seen - had black fur instead of cream-colored fur on the end of his tail. The female had thick, soft fur, and a bushy, soft-furred tail. "Cole for the male, and… umm… Fluffball!"

Remmy burst out laughing. "Fluffball?"

The bushy female pinned her brother, then looked up at both of them. "Eevee!" she cried happily.

Remmy shrugged, still grinning. "Okay! Guess she's Fluffball!"

The last one - the smallest of them, with slightly darker fur than the others - mewed softly. Finally clean to Manx's standards, she rubbed against Ivonar's ankle. Ivonar picked her up, and she started purring her odd, Eevee purr - a strange, sort of growl-like sound, but much too high and not at all threatening, a sound kind of like "yeeyeeyee!" "Aww," Ivonar crooned, rubbing her chin against the little Eevee's soft cheek.

Remmy grinned. "You two match." Ivonar glanced at him, not understanding. "Her fur matches your hair."

She chuckled, tickling the Eevee's ears. The little Eevee purred her strange little "yeeyeeyee!" purr even louder. "You're such a sweetie!" she told her. The Eevee just kept purring.

And so the Eevees were named Static, Cole, Fluffball, and Sweetie.

*

It immediately became apparent that marching through Viridian Forest with four young Eevees was not exactly the easiest thing to do.

Cole and Fluffball kept tackling one another, rolling off into bushes, and making the others wait up for them. Static was jumpy, running off at the slightest strange noise; Manx started carrying him by the scruff of the neck. Sweetie refused to walk by herself; she cried and mewed until someone picked her up, and even then carried on for awhile, scaring off any new Pokémon that might turn up. Finally, Ivonar convinced her to try riding on her shoulder, which Sweetie found acceptable - although she sometimes lost her balance and tumbled off, only to burst out crying again.

"You be quiet," Ivonar muttered testily at her, the fourth time she fell off and the fourteenth time she started crying, "or I'll change your name from 'Sweetie' to 'Crybaby'." She scratched half-heartedly at the little Eevee's chin. Remmy sighed as he carried Cole under one arm, Fluffball under the other, trying to keep them far enough apart that they weren't tempted to try pawing each other across his chest. At one point he'd tried carrying Fluffball forwards, Cole backwards, but that was an immediate failure: the Eevees made a game of catching and biting each others' tails. "They're worse than Toby and me," Ivonar said at one point. Remmy shrugged a little as he turned Cole around again; he had no frame of reference. His brother was two, his sister less than a year. They were two of the many reasons why his parents rushed so much.

"You okay carrying those two?" Ivonar asked.

"They're both handfuls," he replied. "It's a good thing I have two hands."

"You can put them in the bike baskets," Ivonar said. She patted the handlebar she held in her left hand, with her left hand. What made carrying the Eevees so difficult was that Ivonar still had to wheel her bike along, and that took two hands. "Take a break."

"Actually, we can all kind of take a break that way," he said. They stopped. First, he picked up the blanket on one wire basket, and put Cole under it; then he walked around the bike, picked up the blanket covering that side, and put Fluffball under that. He then reached for Static: Manx gave him up, and spit out the fur that had accumulated in his mouth. Finally, he took Sweetie and put them both in the basket on the handlebars. Sweetie immediately started crying.

"Oh, would you _please_ be _quiet_?" Ivonar pleaded, rubbing her between the ears. Sweetie started whimpering, but stopped crying. "Good thinking, Remmy."

"I had inspiration," he grinned.

"Oh, yeah? What inspiration?"

"I didn't want to have to carry them much farther. Sweetie may be clumsy, but she doesn't struggle constantly."

"That's true." They came to an opening in the trees. Manx yowled. "What's wrong?" Ivonar asked him, surprised.

Whimpering, Manx sat down quickly and started biting at the bottom of his right front foot. "Let me see," Ivonar said, her tone more demanding than questioning. She handed her handlebars over to Remmy, then took hold of Manx's foot. "It's a thorn." She grimaced. "Gotta watch where you walk, silly." She managed to grip the base of the thorn with three fingers, and pulled quickly. Manx hissed as the two-inch long thorn slipped cleanly out from between his toes. "Ow!" Ivonar said, wincing in sympathy. "This is one nasty thorn." She tossed it into a bush. Manx started licking his wound. The Eevees mewed from their assigned baskets. Static bit Sweetie's ear playfully; Sweetie misunderstood and started crying again. Static immediately started licking off her ear to apologize, but she didn't stop crying until Ivonar gave her a hug. When she was returned to the basket, she immediately bit Static in the ear, then began licking it.

Finally, the Eevees settled down - Cole and Fluffball dozing in their baskets, Static watching little moths and flies with fascination, and Sweetie simply sitting quietly for once. Manx walked with a minor limp, his foot taped up with a little of the medical tape Mrs. Marain had given to Ivonar, so dirt wouldn't get into the hole in his foot.

But, halfway across the clearing, they were stopped again.

"Halt!"

The three walkers stopped. Static looked around worriedly, his fur puffing up a little. "Huh?" Ivonar said.

A figure - a young boy, dressed in some sort of ancient suit of armor - leaped out of a tree on the far side of the clearing. "You shall halt!" he called.

"Why?" Remshaw called back, frowning a little.

"I am Samurai!" the boy crowed, standing up straight. He pulled a long, ceremonial-looking sword out of a scabbard attached to his belt. "Are either of you a trainer from Pallet Town?"

They looked at each other. "We both are," Ivonar replied.

"Her more than me, though," Remmy added. "I'm not really into this."

"Thanks a lot," Ivonar hissed. "Telling the guy with the sword that I'm more interested than you?"

"Relax," Remmy assured her quietly. "It's fake."

"Really?"

"I'm trying to be optimistic."

"Oh. Thanks."

"Anytime."

Samurai slid into a fighting stance, his sword held at ready. "Then I challenge you both!" he cried. "I challenge each of you to a Pokémon battle. One Pokémon each."

"Why?" Remmy asked.

"Why? _Why?_" Samurai stood up straight again. He pushed the visor up on his helmet. "_Why?_"

"Yeah," Remmy said, nodding. "Why?"

Samurai frowned a little. "What do you mean, why?"

"I mean, _why_? Why do you challenge each of us to a Pokémon battle with one Pokémon each?"

Samurai scowled a little. "Well…" He sheathed his sword. "Well, see, I heard that a bunch of trainers were coming out of Pallet Town," he said. "I figured that, if I could beat them, I could consider signing up for the Pokémon League battles in a few months."

"And if you don't?" Remmy asked.

Samurai shrugged a little. "It just means I have to keep training, that's all."

"Why only one Pokémon each?"

Samurai blushed a little. "Well… I kind of only have two Pokémon."

Remmy nodded. "Makes sense." He looked at Ivonar. "Want to?"

Ivonar shrugged. "I guess so. You want to go first, or should I?"

Remmy shrugged. "You're holding the bike. Guess I'll go."

"Good luck."

"Thanks."

Remmy stepped forward. Reaching into his pocket, he felt the three Pokéballs there - his Bulbasaur, Pidgey, and Spearow. "I choose Saurus!" he said, throwing out one of the balls. With a flash of red light, his Bulbasaur became real.

"Saurus," Ivonar echoed, nodding. "Cool name."

"Just came to me," Remmy replied honestly.

"Since you are the less dedicated trainer," Samurai proclaimed, drawing his sword and regaining his original theatrics, "I choose… Caterpie!" He, too, threw a pokéball. There was another flare of red light, and the little insect appeared. It squeaked, looking at the Bulbasaur.

"Saur?" Saurus sounded skeptical. After all, he'd already defeated one Caterpie. What was so different about this one?

"Caterpie, string shot!" Samurai commanded. Immediately, the Caterpie began spitting a thin, web-like material in Saurus's eyes, a material that quickly hardened.

Saurus shook his head, blinded. "Bulba!" he shouted angrily. He pawed at his face, trying to get the hardened stuff out of his eyes. "Bulba_saur_!"

"Saurus, use your vines to break it!" Remmy commanded crisply.

At once, two vines sprouted from the bulb on Saurus's back, vines that were meant to attack other creatures, but did just as well at cracking the hardened shell on Saurus's face.

"Great!" Ivonar cheered. She would have clapped, if dropping the bike didn't mean possibly injuring the young Eevees. "Good one, Remmy!"

"Now, Vine Whip!" he commanded, not paying the slightest bit of attention to her.

Saurus, remembering the last battle against a Caterpie, obeyed immediately. Once the last of the shell fell from his face, he turned the vines to their natural function - bashing enemies. In less than two seconds, he'd given the Caterpie three quick strikes, then wrapped it up, immobilizing it.

With a squeak, the Caterpie threw its head back, and started spraying thread into the air. The thread fell back down on it, and on Saurus's vines. Not wanting to get in the same trouble, Saurus dropped the Caterpie. Still, the Caterpie kept its head thrown back, throwing thread into the air, letting it fall on itself, like a small fountain.

"What is it _doing_?" Remmy asked, raising a skeptical eyebrow.

Samurai thrust his sword proudly in the air. "Yes!" he crowed. "At long last - my Caterpie is evolving into Metapod!"

He was right. In a few moments, it was impossible to see the Caterpie anymore; it was covered completely with its own hardening thread. With a short burst of dull white light and a soft, crackling sound, the thread hardened, the Caterpie changed, and it became Metapod.

"Congratulations," Ivonar said.

Samurai bowed. "Thank you." Then he looked at Remmy. "And thank you, and your Bulbasaur, for providing my Caterpie the energy it needed to evolve."

"You're welcome," Remmy replied. "Are we done?"

"Hardly." Samurai took up a new fighting stance. "Shall we continue?"

"If we have to." Saurus looked back at Remmy, waiting for further instructions. "Saurus," he said, "tackle attack!"

"Metapod, harden!" Samurai snapped. With a vague flash of light… well, the Metapod didn't seem to do anything.

With a leap, Saurus rammed into the Metapod - and fell backwards. "Bulba!" he grunted. He rubbed his forehead with one stubby forepaw. "Bulbasaur?" he said, confused. Why should his head hurt if all he'd run into was a Metapod? He tried again; this time, he managed to knock the upright Metapod over. The two tumbled a little. The Bulbasaur got up; the Metapod remained knocked over.

Remmy frowned. "How do we know if I won?" He looked at Ivonar for help. She shrugged. She didn't know either. He sighed. "Saurus, Vine Whip again. Wrap it tight."

The Saurus looked at the knocked down Metapod. Could he really hit something when it was down? Shrugging to himself - since it is very hard to see a Bulbasaur shrug unless you watch very closely - he wrapped the Metapod up as tightly as he could. Still, the Metapod did nothing.

"So?" Ivonar called to Samurai.

Samurai lowered his sword. His shoulders slumped a little. "All a Metapod can do is harden," he said. "I guess you win." He picked up his pokéball. "Metapod, return."

"You too, Saurus," Remmy said. He waited for the Bulbasaur to return to his pokéball before going to get it.

"Now, you!" Samurai shouted, pointing his sword at Ivonar. "What Pokémon shall you use, honorable opponent?"

"Hang on, hang on," Ivonar told him. She waited for Remmy to take the handlebars. She glanced at Manx, to see if he was willing. With another _schnuff_ sound, he lay down, and peeled off the medical tape with his teeth to start licking at his wound again. "Great," she muttered. She reached into the first pouch, and paused. Should she use Char? She slipped her fingers out of the first pouch, and into the second. Then she slid them out again. She hadn't taught Nuisance anything besides Tail Whip yet, and his tail wasn't really good at whipping much of anything. Instead of Tail Whip, it looked more like Nuisance was dancing, or hulahooping, as he twisted his hips from side to side. She skipped over the third pouch; that was Manx's pouch. Her Pidgey, or Spearow? They'd be good if Samurai used another bug Pokémon, but she wasn't sure: she was pretty sure her Pidgey had been burned when Char attacked him, and her Spearow hadn't listened to a word she said when she set her after the Caterpie. "I choose Char," she said finally, reaching into the first pouch again. She held out the ball, letting the Charmander come out on her own, then put the ball back in its little pouch.

"And I will choose… Pinsir!" Samurai threw another Pokéball. This time, a far larger Pokémon - but still, a bug Pokémon - was released. It clacked the sharp, spine-covered pincers it had been named for together eagerly.

"Char, Flame-thrower!"

"Pinsir, Tackle!"

The Pinsir lunged forward - right into a blast of searing-hot flame. "_PINSIR_!" it screamed, running behind Samurai.

"Char, _stop_!" Ivonar shouted, but it was too late - Samurai was blasted, too. "Char, stop it!"

Char stopped, then turned to look at her, scowling slightly. "Char-er?" she said, seeming to ask, _what? What'd I do?_

Ivonar shook her head. "Nevermind," she said, as Samurai fell over. "You okay?" she called over to him as she dug Char's pokéball out of its pouch. Sulkily, not exactly sure why she'd been yelled at, Char allowed herself to return to her pokéball.

"Fine," he called back weakly. He coughed, expelling a puff of smoke.

"Sorry about that."

"S'okay."

Ivonar smiled at Remmy. He grinned back. "We done here?"

He shrugged a little, scratching one of Static's ears. "I guess so."

"S'okay," Samurai said again, to no one in particular. His Pinsir groaned as it flopped in the grass next to him.

"Let's go." She took the handlebars from Remmy, and started walking the bike again. Manx yawned, then jogged a few steps to catch up. He didn't limp at all. "Scaredy Cat," she accused him. He merely snorted in reply.

Samurai forced himself to sit up. "Wait!"

They stopped. "What?" Remmy asked.

"How many more trainers are coming?"

"Two more," Ivonar replied. "A brown-haired self-absorbed annoyance, and a black-haired air-head."

Samurai nodded, then pointed in the direction they were going. "If you go that way," he said, his voice serious, not at all dramatic now, "go quietly. There's an enormous Beedrill nest that goes right next to the path."

Ivonar's eyes lit up. "Where?" she asked, grinning.

*

"You're crazy," Remmy whispered to her, taking the handlebars.

"Stop telling what I already know, and go on," she told him quietly. "I'll catch up. Manx, you stay with him." Manx snorted, scowling. Then he stood on his hind legs, and used one of his forepaws to push Cole's head back into his basket. Falling back on all fours, he glared disapprovingly at Ivonar. "Oh, stop it, you. Mom didn't send you to mother me. You can mother the Eevees. Go on, Remmy. See you later."

He put her helmet on his own head. It was a little big, and cracked where it had hit the rock earlier that day, but it was better than nothing. "Just remember two things."

"What?"

"One - if they see you, run faster than I do." She smiled. "And two - you're crazy."

"I'll remember," she promised. She shoved Cole's head down into his basket again. "See you."

"I hope so." With one more grimace, he started peddling down the path, with no greater sound than the wheels against the dirt. With one last glare at her, Manx followed him, his feet silent.

Grimacing to herself, Ivonar walked down the path on her own, as quietly as she could. Her sneakers were quiet, but not as quiet as the bike, or Manx's naturally silent feet. She cringed, and froze, as she stepped on a twig.

There was no change in the one other sound - the heavy hum of many, many, very big, very fast wings.

Biting her lip, Ivonar continued forward, hunching down lower. She peered through a small bush.

On the other side, a huge tree loomed above her. Beedrills dove and wove in and out of the branches, tending the Kakunas hanging from thin tendrils. Weedles munched leaves higher in the tree. Ivonar set her mouth in a grim line: the lower branches. Those would be her only chances. She waited until she noticed a pattern in the flights of the Beedrills - every forty seconds or so, none of them faced her direction. A split second before she counted silently to forty the fourth time, she sprinted to the base of the tree, hiding in its shadow.

Directly under the tree, the surveillance wasn't as strong: the Beedrills weren't watching for anything to get through. But their silence, and the silence of the Kakunas and Weedles, made it clear that they were listening. Ivonar slowed her breathing as much as she could, and kept counting to forty in her head. She had to keep in mind when she could run back. Finally, when she was sure the Beedrills hadn't noticed her, she gripped the lowermost branch and hauled herself into the tree. As quickly, but silently, as she could, she climbed until she was hidden by the leaves of the tree, and stopped again. _Twenty-eight, twenty-nine, thirty_… she counted silently. So far, it had been about five minutes, if her counting was right. She looked up; she needed to find the quickest, safest path to the nearest Kakuna.

She smiled a little, thinking about how her brother and the other boys back in Pallet Town would react when they learned she single-handedly raided a Beedrill's nest, without getting caught.

It took her a few moments to spot a Kakuna nearby. She crept up three more branches, then edged out as far as she dared. Then she backed closer to the trunk again. It was too far out. Looking around again, she saw another one that looked a lot more promising. She climbed a little higher, then walked carefully four branches over, then, gripping the branch she was standing on, swung her legs out. For a moment she hung in thin air, before she managed to touch the nearest branch below her with her foot. For a scary moment, her foot slipped off, jostling both that branch and the one she hung on, but the Beedrills seemed oblivious. She managed to get both feet on the branch on the second try, then, hugging the trunk, side-stepped one more branch over. She sat on the branch, then slipped to the much wider branch below. She ducked a low branch, then boosted herself onto another one. Then she looked a little upward - and smiled.

The Kakuna looked back warily.

Ivonar froze. Beedrills, she knew, attacked things that moved. It was assumed that Kakunas had a hard time seeing things that didn't move, too. She kept her smile plastered to her face, forcing herself not to blink. She held her breath. Finally, when it felt like her lungs would burst, the Kakuna's eyes shifted in another direction.

Quietly, she reached up, twisting it sharply. It made an odd, gear-like sound as the tendril suspending it snapped.

Again, Ivonar froze, holding the Kakuna above her head, as four Beedrills came to investigate. The Kakuna continued making the odd, gear-like sound.

Then it cracked.

Ivonar grimaced as first a needle-like stinger, then another, pierced the skin of the Kakuna. Then the insect head broke free. Slowly, so slowly, the new Beedrill emerged from the Kakuna.

Immediately, it glared at her.

"Uh-oh," Ivonar breathed. Dropping the evolving Kakuna, she spun around, dropped down a branch, ducked a low branch, jumped from one branch to another, and leaped to grab onto yet another. She jumped again, panic helping to perfect her aim as she grabbed a branch just out of her reach. She boosted herself onto it, then ran across the three branches next to it. She dropped down a branch, then another.

_Wait_, her brain told her.

_Wait?!_ Her panic shouted back at her brain. _Wait?! There's a hundred Beedrills after me!_

_You're back where you started, you numbskull!_ her brain pointed out.

Looking around quickly, Ivonar saw that her brain was telling the truth. Right on this branch…

Doing her best to put the hum of the wings after her, or the danger those wings represented, out of her mind, Ivonar sprinted out onto the branch, making it bow dangerously. Finally, it became too vertical, and too narrow, to run on; her foot slipped off. She lashed out with her left hand, snagging it, then swung herself forward.

Yes!

Just before she let go with her left hand, she wrapped her right arm around the Kakuna right in front of her. "Please don't hatch!" she cried as she let go of the branch, letting her weight brake the tendril suspending the Kakuna ten feet in the air. She wrapped her left arm around it, too, as both of them fell.

She landed hard, rolling. Leaping to her feet again, she ran.

Faster than she thought possible - faster even, she was sure, than Remmy - she _ran_.

Two things became clear pretty quickly, though.

No matter how fast she ran, the Beedrills were faster.

And, no matter how much she dodged, the Beedrills were getting better aim.

Ivonar clenched her eyes shut, squeezing the Kakuna to her chest. No! No! This wasn't how it was supposed to be! "Help me!" she screamed to no one.

"Per_si_an!" a voice snarled. The nearest hum ended in a crash.

Whirling, surprised, Ivonar stared.

Manx snarled, wordlessly, at, at the least, twenty Beedrills, his fangs bared, his ears straight back. He pressed his forepaws hard against the forelegs of the Beedrill he had pinned, while his back legs both pressed down its stinger. The Beedrill's wings were crushed beneath it. Manx snarled even louder at the other Beedrills.

_Come and get me_, he seemed to be saying.

_Come on. Come and get me._

_What's a matter? Come and get me!_

A few of the Beedrills, impressed, veered off.

But not enough.

Not any where _near_ enough.

"Char?" Ivonar whispered.

With a flash of red light, Char appeared, just in front of her. Char looked up at the swarm, and her chin dropped. "Charmander?" she squeaked.

"Ro?" Ivonar mumbled. "Pidge? Nuisance? Ratzy?" Four flashes of light, and the three birds and one rodent appeared. All of them stared soundlessly at the twenty - thirty - maybe even forty - huge bugs.

Then Ro opened her beak.

"_Spearow_!" she screamed, a single word of challenge.

"_Persian_!" Manx roared in agreement.

Stepping forward, regaining her courage, Char threw a hot blast of fire into the air at the nearest Beedrill. It went down hard, its wings aflame. "_Charmander_!" she shouted, firing another shot at the second nearest Beedrill. This one managed to dodge her attack, and flew off.

"_Pidgey_!" Pidge cried, getting caught up in the moment. Ignoring the burn on his left wing, he flew high into the air. "Pidgepidgepidgepidgepidgepidgepidge_pidge_!" he shouted, beating his wings as hard as he could. The Gust attack threw four Beedrills to the ground, where Ro pecked at one of their exoskeletons, her strong beak ripping right through it, and where Ratzy bit into another one, his sharp incisors doing the same. Manx threw himself on one of them, tearing off a wing with his teeth. Char blasted the fourth point-blank with a strong Flame-thrower. Even Nuisance tried to get involved, sitting on the one Manx had already weakened, keeping it from getting up. When it managed to knock him off and started to pull itself to its feet, he panicked, and whacked it in the face with his tail in his pathetic Tail Whip attack. However, since the Beedrill was already dazed and weak, it passed out completely. Nuisance stared at it, too stunned to have won to know what to do.

Ivonar watched, equally stunned, as her six (well, five, anyway…) Pokémon came together. Pidge blasted Beedrills out of the sky with his Gust attacks, and helped Ro tear into them with his blunt, but strong, beak. Ro did well enough on her own, bringing her sharp claws into the battle along with her beak, tearing and biting and occasionally squawking "_Spearow!_" in challenge. Char helped Pidge take the Beedrills down, and when she missed a few in the air, she turned her attacks to those that had been brought to the ground. Manx leaped from Beedrill to Beedrill, his claws and teeth shredding wings and taking off stingers. Ratzy avoided stings when he could, taking them when he couldn't with nothing more than winces, and bit anything that came close enough. Nuisance finally managed to convince himself that the Beedrill he'd Tail Whipped wasn't getting up, and danced around a little, then squawked as a Beedrill Pidge had Gusted landed right on top of him.

"Nuisance!" Ivonar cried. This wasn't worth a stupid Kakuna! Ratzy was slowing down; he must have been poisoned. Pidge was tiring out; his Gust attacks were becoming weaker, and his aim was getting worse. Char, too, was tiring; one Flame-thrower would have singed Manx if it had anything near the power of her earlier attacks, which it didn't. Only Ro and Manx didn't seem affected - Ro, in fact, seemed to be having fun, stabbing Beedrills with her sharp beak and sharper claws, beating them with her small wings and screaming at them. Manx was unrecognizable, his teeth bared, snarling wordlessly, leaping from one insect to another, clawing, biting, tearing them apart.

Slowly, unnaturally, the Beedrill on top of Nuisance started to get up. Its wings were still; it looked startled, if not terrified. Ivonar watched, her jaw slowly dropping; Manx paused in his attacks, looking; Pidge landed, exhausted, then turned to stare; Ratzy limped under a bush, too weak to keep his eyes opened; Ro pulled away from a Beedrill she'd just pecked into debris, and turned bright white.

From beneath the Beedrill, Nuisance stood up, his eyes glowing an unnatural blue. Without a sound, he stared, unblinking, at the Beedrill; it rose, higher, higher. Then, he blinked - and the Beedrill slammed into the ground, in the place where he no longer was.

"What attack was _that?_" Ivonar breathed, staring. She hugged the Kakuna in her arms even tighter.

She looked around dazedly.

Twenty - if not thirty - Beedrills lay scattered, some buzzing weakly, some not even doing that much. She saw Ratzy resting under a bush; Pidge was near him. Manx limped up to Ivonar, and sat heavily beside her, out of breath. He started licking his right forepaw, as if nothing had happened. And Ro-

Ivonar gasped as, where she had seen Ro last, the much larger bird spread its long, powerful wings and screamed a challenge into the cooling, evening air.

"_Fearow_!"

The Beedrills that could - which were very few, since their opponents had mostly gone after their fragile wings - flew away. The others that were still conscious, which did not outnumber those able to fly by a great many, limped away, using their foreleg stingers as extra legs. Even without them, the number of Beedrills that were unconscious, or worse, were over twenty.

How many _had_ her six taken on?

"Come on, everybody," Ivonar sighed, suddenly feeling exhausted. For the first time since deciding to raid the Beedrill's nest - in fact, for the first time since her first battle, with Samurai - she ran out of adrenaline. All she wanted to do was sleep. "Great job. All of you." Pidge and Ratzy were only too glad to return to their pokéballs. Char, too, went without protest. Ivonar considered returning Manx, but decided against it. He'd more than earned another night out. Nuisance returned on his own, even though she hadn't planned on putting him back. And Ro…

She stared at the evolved bird. No wonder Ro hadn't listened to her: she was too powerful for a new trainer like her. "Please, Ro," she said, hoping that asking would be enough. "Will you come back?"

"Fear. Ro. Fearow," Ro replied, her voice deeper, crueler. She bowed her head to the ground. "Ro fear, Fearow ro ro."

Ivonar was momentarily confused… when suddenly she understood. "You're… welcome."

Ro met her gaze, her furious eyes smoldering, then dissolved in a flash of red light.

*

As evening grew closer to night, Remmy grew more worried… and aggravated.

"Come on, Sweetie, please," he begged, tickling her tummy, then her ears, then her chin, then her tummy again, but it was no use: she kept crying. Manx had wandered off; Remmy was still sure they were too close to the Beedrill's nest to shout after him. He decided to trust the tailless Persian to know what he was doing.

Saurus was keeping the other three Eevees busy by waving his Vine Whips in the air and letting them try to catch them, but he, too, was running out of patience - not to mention energy. Fluffball had already bitten his vines four times; Cole had bitten them seven. Static had settled for a snooze in the space between Saurus's short neck and the bulb on his back, which, for Saurus, was very uncomfortable. He understood that Remmy had already tried convincing the Eevees to play with Pi, his Pidgey, and Nasty, the Spearow. He also understood that Pi had lost half his tail feathers when Cole and Fluffball decided to tackle him at the same time (conking their heads together in the process), and Nasty had gotten his name because he'd tried to eat Sweetie. He understood that those reasons left him as the only other possible choice to help Remmy out. (The second fact was also why the smallest Eevee refused to stop crying.) Still, the Bulbasaur was wearing out. He'd already had more exercise than he was used to in his battle with the evolving Caterpie, but now he was pulling babysitting duty. He was bushed. He'd had enough - _more_ than enough.

Suddenly, Static was lifted from his back. He looked over his shoulder, surprised, then smiled as he saw Manx lie down, and start cleaning the fur between the Eevee's long ears with his rough tongue. He was surprised to see the scratches that covered the tailless Persian's once sleek, ivory hide, but, since the Persian offered no comment, he made none of his own. He merely winced as Fluffball bit one of his vines for the fifth time.

"Hey, Remmy." With an exhausted sigh, an equally exhausted Ivonar fell to the ground.

"Please, make her stop," he begged, handing Sweetie to her.

Ivonar sighed. "You big crybaby," she muttered. She scratched the Eevee between the ears, then down her back. She stopped crying, and merely whimpered. She settled in Ivonar's lap, cowering. "What happened?"

"Nothing major. I tried introducing my Bulbasaur, Pidgey, and Spearow to the wonders of babysitting."

"And?"

"Well, Saurus is doing pretty good, even though he's tired, but Pi found that it cost too much in tail feathers, and Nasty got his name from trying to eat one of the babies."

"Oh." Ivonar sighed, still hugging the Kakuna.

"So, you got one, huh?"

"It wasn't worth it. It was the stupidest thing I have _ever_ done."

"What happened?"

"To keep it short? Ratzy's poisoned, Char's exhausted, Pidge's burn's infected, Ro evolved, Nuisance has some sort of attack I can't name, and Manx here saved my life." She rubbed the Persian's head gently. He purred vaguely as he started cleaning the grumblingly protesting Static's back.

"Wow." Silently, Remmy thanked himself for trusting the Persian. Then, not knowing what else to say, he said "Wow" again.

"Yeah. Wow." Ivonar turned the Kakuna to face her. "After all this, you'd better be worth it," she warned it. It stared silently back.

Remmy looked at the dozing Eevee in her lap. "You know, we're going to have to decide what to do with these guys," he pointed out.

"What do you mean?" Ivonar asked him, yawning. After all the excitement, she wasn't even hungry: all she wanted to do was sleep. She got up to get her sleeping bag from the back of her bike. She woke Sweetie up, and put her back on her shoulder.

"I don't think we should split them up."

"Of course not!" She dropped the bag to the ground, pulling the elastics off, and pushed it, letting it unroll itself. She sat down to tug off her sneakers and socks.

"So… I think you should keep them."

"What?" Ivonar looked at him sharply. She was halfway into her sleeping bag. "You think _I_ should keep them?" She laughed. "You think I should keep everything!"

He shrugged a little. "Well, I don't-"

"Yeah, yeah, you don't really want to do this. But you really have talent!" She lay down, but perched herself up on one elbow. "I _did_ see you today, against Samurai. Using Saurus's Vine Whips on _himself_ to get rid of the hardened thread? It was genius!"

"Bulba!" Saurus agreed. After all, _he_ hadn't thought of it.

Remmy shrugged it off, then grinned. "I think it's decided for us, anyway."

As they were talking, Sweetie had crept into Ivonar's sleeping bag, then lay right in the perfect "hug me" position. She jumped right out of it, though, as Fluffball and Cole ran into the tunnel-like space, at home in the warm place, which reminded them of their den. They wrestled for awhile inside the bag, making Ivonar cringe every once in a while, giggle others, depending on whether it was tiny claws, or bushy tails, that touched the sensitive bottoms of her feet, before finally curling up together in a corner by her toes. When Ivonar said "talent", Nuisance let himself out of his pokéball and flopped on his stomach over Ivonar's feet. There was a soft squeak from inside the sleeping bag as his bill fell on one of the hidden Eevee's tails, and some shuffling of position as they found someplace without a Psyduck to lay down again. Nuisance was almost immediately snoring. When Saurus voiced his agreement, Static stalked up to the sleeping bag, sniffed it cautiously, then marched up the lump that was Ivonar's legs, and curled up on Nuisance's back with his tail covering his nose, even as Sweetie returned to her "hug me" position next to Ivonar.

Ivonar looked down at Sweetie. "I can't keep all four," she said doubtfully.

Remmy sighed. "Look, if you feel bad about it…" He thought about it. "I'll trade you Ratzy for my pair."

"Huh?"

He shrugged a little. "Hey, a fighting Rattata for a couple of young Eevees? I think it's fair, technically."

"Remmy, Ratzy's poisoned."

"He'll be okay when we get to Viridian City. Don't worry."

Ivonar bit her lip. "I don't know."

He got up to get his own sleeping bag. "Think about it. If you feel bad about keeping all four Eevees, I'll take Ratzy. If you don't want to give me Ratzy, that's fine too. It's totally your choice."

Ivonar reached in the last pouch in her belt, feeling the pokéball there. Ratzy had fought so hard for her. He'd fought so well with the others, too.

Still, Remmy was right… the Eevees really _shouldn't_ be separated…

"I'll decide when we get to Viridian City."

Remmy unrolled his sleeping bag. "Okay," he agreed.

Ivonar lay her head down, resting her arm over Sweetie. She'd tucked the Kakuna behind her, in the bag, and just hoped it wouldn't hatch. It was quiet; once Remmy lay down, there were no sounds beyond Nuisance's soft snoring, and four beautifully harmonious, "yeeyeeyee!"-like purrs.

Smiling a little, she drifted immediately to sleep.


	3. Default Chapter Title

**__**

A Pallet Pair #3:

Sidetracking, Backtracking, and Backpacking

The people of Viridian City weren't exactly sure what to make of the odd spectacle that appeared out of Viridian Forest.

The least noteworthy of the group was a young girl, about five feet tall, with dull brown, shoulder-length hair and amber eyes, wearing a light sweater thrown over a collared tee shirt and jeans. She wheeled along a beat-up-looking, muddied bike, with a basket hanging on the handlebars and two hanging off either side of the back tire. From one handlebar hung a badly cracked bike helmet. On her shoulder rode one of the stranger members of the party - a small, somewhat thin Eevee with fur that matched the girl's dull brown hair.

Beside the girl walked a boy, slightly shorter than his companion, with red hair that was cut low in front of his ears and high on his forehead. He wore a green jacket over a dull gray tee shirt and jeans. He looked somewhere between eight and ten, which was odd, because his apparent age didn't fit with the serious expression on his face. His body may have looked maybe nine years old, but the look of intent concentration on his face was that of someone two or three times that age. Along with that, there was simply a look to him, something… not… quite… right. Something that, no matter how many double-takes people took, could neither be identified, nor dismissed. In his arms he carried an Eevee much like the one on the girl's shoulder, except that its fur was lighter, and its tail had the appearance of an electrocuted stiff wire brush.

At the girl's side walked a graceful, if limping, Persian. Its sleek ivory coat was dotted with thin lines of red, as if it had just escaped from a harsh battle. It was somewhat tall for a Persian, with long whiskers, longer legs, large and intelligent eyes, silent paws … but no tail. That, too, gained them many second looks.

Around the heels of the two humans and the Persian scampered two other Eevees, one with thick, soft fur, and one with a black, rather than cream-colored, tail tip. Occasionally, the Persian would take one or the other in its mouth, separating the two, but the moment it let go, one of them would pounce on the other. Their squeals and high-pitched growls at one another and the Persian gained them even more attention, as people turned around to see what the fuss was about.

By the time the odd group reached the Viridian City Pokécenter, the girl was no longer that unnoticeable, as her face had turned a color very close to that of the boy's hair.

*

Ivonar Marain sighed in relief as the doors of the Pokécenter closed behind them. "That was the most embarrassing thing I have ever gone through," she moaned. She slipped her backpack off one shoulder, in order to lean against the wall by the door, without injuring the hidden passenger within her pack. "In its own way, that was worse than the Beedrills. At least with the Beedrills, I didn't have to _think_ about all those eyes." She shuddered.

Even without a hint of a smile, Joey "Remmy" Remshaw managed to look amused. "I didn't think you were shy," he teased.

"Shut up," Ivonar told him tolerantly. "Bad enough we had to backtrack our way here. Do you know how much time we must be losing?"

"Time?" he echoed.

"You may not want to, but _I_ want to get my first badge, _before_ Misters 'Nose-in-the-Air' and 'Head-in-the-Clouds' do!" She scowled as she picked up the two Eevees on the ground. The one with the soft fur had been running in and out of the door, amazed at the automatic opening mechanism, while the one with the black tail tip had been more interested in trying to eat her shoelaces. Both complained bitterly at the interruption of their fun. Their complaints upset the Eevee still on Ivonar's shoulders, making her whimper. "Oh, quiet, you crybaby," Ivonar shushed the Eevee on her shoulder. "Cole, Fluffball, you guys behave!" She lugged the protesting Eevees to the front desk, while trying to keep the far-from-agile Eevee on her shoulders from falling off. "Could somebody help me, please?" she called.

A pretty young nurse appeared from a doorway leading further into the clinic. "I'm sorry," she apologized. "We just completed surgery on a Rattata. We had to amputate the poor thing's whiskers on one side of its face. It got attacked by a Fearow, we think. A trainer found it, but they've disappeared. We're not sure what we're going to do with it. Can I help you?"

"I hope so," Ivonar replied. She put the two Eevees she was holding on the counter.

"Oh!" the nurse cried softly. She picked up the one with the black tail tip. "I've never seen one with a black tail tip before. Why are these poor things so thin?"

"We found them in a den in the forest," Ivonar replied, nodding slightly toward Remmy. "They… lost their mother."

"Oh…" The nurse cuddled the Eevee she was holding, but all he did was squirm.

"Cole doesn't like cuddling much," Ivonar told her. She ran her hand down the back of the thick-furred Eevee. "Fluffball likes it more, but Sweetie and Static are the real cuddly ones." She took the Eevee off her shoulders and gave it a loving squeeze. The Eevee burst into a high, growlish purr, which sounded vaguely like "Yeeyeeyee!" "Aren't you, Sweetie?" The Eevee trilled even as she purred, and rubbed her cheek against Ivonar's.

"They're obviously very fond of you," the nurse admitted, "but I think they should stay here for awhile. They look undernourished. They're probably low on a lot of nutrients. What have you been giving them since you found them?"

"Well… uh…" Ivonar felt a little silly. "We gave them milk when we first found them, and they've had normal Pokémon food for a couple of days."

The nurse nodded reassuringly. "You did the right thing, considering what you had on hand. They'll need a special Pokémon food for infants for another month or so, though. You don't have any, do you?" Ivonar shook her head. "I didn't think you would. Most trainers are good enough not to steal infants from dens or nests, but you didn't steal them did you?" Ivonar shook her head, a little upset at the idea. "I'm not trying to accuse you," the nurse apologized. "I'm just thinking out loud. I'm sorry. Most trainers don't carry infant food. I'll be happy to give you enough for them. You did the right thing."

"Thanks," Ivonar said, smiling as best she could. "I'd also like to have my Pokémon healed. We got into a big fight with this Beedrill's nest, and none of them are in good shape. Not even Manx here, and he's the best off, besides Nuisance."

"What happened to his tail?" the nurse asked, frowning.

Ivonar shrugged. "He lost it back when he was a Meowth. It didn't grow back when he evolved. We've had him for about two years or so. That's how long he hasn't had a tail."

"Oh. Okay."

"The real problems are Ratzy - my Rattata - and Pidge - my Pidgey. Ratzy got poisoned by too many stings, and Pidge was burned when Char - my Charmander - helped capture him, and when he fought against the Beedrills, I think his burn got infected."

"We'll see what we can do," the nurse assured her, smiling. Then she looked at Remmy. "How about you?"

He took out two pokéballs. "Well, my Bulbasaur's a little exhausted, and my Pidgey's missing a lot of tail feathers. My Spearow's okay - he isn't very nice, but he's not hurt or tired."

"All right."

Ivonar reached into the pouches in her belt, pulling out the five occupied pokéballs. "My Charmander's exhausted, too," she said. "My Fearow seems okay, but I think she's a little tired out, too. And do you think you can do something about Manx's cuts?"

The nurse sighed heavily. "Four undernourished Eevees, a poisoned Rattata, one Pidgey with an infected burn, another with missing tail feathers, a Persian who needs treatment for cuts, and three cases of exhaustion?" She frowned a little. "We can treat that, but that'll take most of our personnel who aren't already busy."

"I'm sorry," Ivonar apologized.

"It's not your fault," the nurse told her.

"Yes it is," Ivonar disagreed. "See, I was the stupid one who thought I could get a Kakuna from the Beedrills. All my Pokémon are hurt because of me."

"They're all hurt, and you didn't get a Kakuna?" The nurse sounded upset.

"I did get the Kakuna," Ivonar told her, patting her backpack. "I wish I didn't though. If I hadn't been stupid, they wouldn't have gotten hurt and we wouldn't have had to backtrack back here. We're from Pallet Town."

The nurse smiled again. "Don't worry," she said. "The fact that you're sorry, and that you were willing to come back to get them treated, proves that you are responsible. I admit, raiding a Beedrill's nest was probably the stupidest thing you could've done…" Ivonar cringed; she knew that already! "…but you're making up for it now. The only thing is… the Rattata without its whisker. When it wakes up, it needs to be helped a bit, to adjust. Rattatas are dependent on their whiskers for balance. The poor thing will need to be helped around for awhile, until it gets used to only having whiskers on one side."

"We could do that," Remmy said.

"Could you?" the nurse asked, sounding hopeful.

"Of course we could!" Ivonar agreed. "After all, you're being so nice and helping us, why shouldn't we help you?"

"That's wonderful!" the nurse said. She put the pokéballs into a tray, then clicked her tongue a little. "Come on, pretty Persian. We'll get you some ointment on those cuts, so they heal right up. And we'll check out that limp of yours, too."

Manx snorted a little, stood up, and stretched, yawning. Ivonar gave him a quick rub on the head. "You make sure those guys behave, okay, Manx?" Ivonar told him. He leaned into her hand, demanding an ear tickle. She chuckled, and obliged. "Make sure those Eevees don't give anybody any trouble. We'll be back when everybody's feeling better, okay?" He snorted again, and stalked over to the nurse. A rough purr burst from his throat as he rubbed back and forth against her legs. Ivonar pouted a little, then got over it. She was getting along better with Manx than she ever had before. Just because he'd never purred for her…

"Come on, you two," the nurse told them as she lifted the tray with their pokéballs. "I'll take you to your patient."

*

"Rata?"

Groggily, the Rattata opened his bright red eyes. "Poor guy," a human murmured.

He sat up - then fell over. Confused, he got himself upright again, laying on his stomach. He tried to sit up again, only to find that the world was skewed heavily to the right, but almost non-existent on the left. He lay down again, whimpering slightly. He rubbed at his ears in frustration. What was wrong? Why did the world tilt like this? He rubbed at his face - and stopped.

The left side of his face… it wasn't right.

With the back of his right paw, he rubbed at his left cheek. There was a piece of material there - a Band-Aid, a word he didn't know, he just knew it felt like a leaf of some sort, but that it was stuck to his face.

His… his whisker! Where was it?

He rubbed at his face again with both paws. The right one was still there, but not the left. Why?

He remembered vague things… a flash of orange fur and fire… a growl, a roar, a bark… he whimpered, laying down with his chin on his paws. Vaguely, he remembered pain that he no longer felt, wounds that he no longer had. His face twitched. It felt heavy, on the right side. That was why the world tilted; his face was heavier on the right, so he was leaning that way. The left side of existence seemed… numb. Vague.

A gentle hand brushed against his head. "Poor thing," the same human voice said. "Your world feels sideways, don't it?"

"Ra," he agreed, sniffing a little. He felt his teeth with his tongue… uh-oh, he'd chipped one. The left was shorter than the right. What had it been, that had wrecked the left side of him? His whisker, and his tooth… his tail felt kind of stiff, too, but at least _that_ was still there.

Fire. Orange fur. A growl, a blaze of light, something ramming him…

The memories weren't clear, as if they had happened long ago. Had he been sleeping long? Where was his mate? He tried to sit up again, this time using his eyes rather than his whiskers to get his bearings straight. Humans liked horizontal lines; he had to make the lines he could see horizontal. It made him dizzy, to fight against what his remaining whisker told him.

Why did he have only one whisker?

Why hadn't they just taken off both, instead of leaving him like this?

He swayed sideways; a gentle hand, a nice hand, a good, human hand, held him up until the horizontal lines were horizontal again. "He seems to be getting it," a new human voice said.

"I can't help but feel sorry for him," the first one said. "I mean, the whole world must seem off-balance."

"Or at least askew," the second voice agreed. Another hand ran down his back, again and again, gentle, unthreatening. "He seems to be adjusting pretty well."

"No he's not. He's just sitting there staring at the wall over there."

Cautiously, he tried looking to the left, toward where things didn't seem real. The human he could see there was brown-haired and amber-eyed - that was all he got before he started to fall forward. He yelped, but the human moved a quick, strong hand to catch him. Its mouth moved. "It's okay," the first voice said, gently. "Take your time. This'll take some getting used to, until it grows back."

The gentle hand on his back continued to stroke his fur, but it wasn't the hand of the human he could see, the one who had one hand supporting him from the front, and one brushing the fur on his head. The hands were so nice… they smoothed his fur gently, in the right direction, soothingly. For the moment, he let himself relax. He was in a human place, but these humans were good humans. Not like the one who had been with the orange blur. Not the one whose harsh, high laugh had been the last sound before… whatever… what hit him…

He had to go home! What if that cruel pair had attacked his mate, his nest? He struggled to stand up, focusing on that one horizontal line. He walked forward gingerly, as if walking on hot sand. He came to the edge of the… thing… he was on. The floor was three times his height down. No problem. He leaped.

The floor came quickly, slamming into him. With a squeal of pain, he crashed, legs splayed, head knocking against the floor.

The humans were there immediately, the one he'd seen getting him on his feet again, the other helping to straighten out his legs and tail, but always, their hands were so gentle, so careful. He'd always been suspicious of humans; was _this_ what he had been wary of? Had he been silly to be worried?

No. A human had commanded that orange demon. He had to be careful. He had to be wary. One of these humans might set the orange blur on him again. He stiffened himself to their gentle touches and their soft petting. He bared his teeth at them warningly.

"Oh, come on!" the first voice chided him. "How is it _our_ fault you didn't stick the landing?"

True, it wasn't their fault he hadn't landed on his feet… he lowered his lips, but his ears remained laid back against his skull. For now, he would allow them to help him, so long as they seemed to help. But one suspicious move, one hint of betrayal, and he didn't care if he had to run on vertical ground - he was gone.

*

As soon as the Rattata seemed ready, the threesome wandered outside. A few people glanced at the lopsided, drunken-walking Rattata, but not nearly as many as had looked at them when they came into town with the four Eevees.

"Maybe you should bring that poor thing to the Pokécenter," a woman holding a child by each hand suggested.

"That's where we were just from," Remmy assured her. "We're trying to help it adjust to only having one whisker."

The woman frowned a little, but moved on.

"He seems to be trying to get somewhere," Ivonar said, frowning a little.

"Maybe he's trying to get home," Remmy suggested.

"That's… possible." She smiled down at the Rattata. "You want to go home, huh?"

The Rattata looked back at them, his head cocked to the side, in confusion and surprise (and from the fact that the world seemed less confusing with his head at an angle). He squeaked a little, then continued on. He started to stagger right, then forced himself left again, but always headed toward the forest.

"Come here, Rahta," Ivonar murmured kindly, picking him up. She pet his head gently. "I'll give you a break. You obviously don't want to stay in town."

Remmy grinned. "Naming him?"

Ivonar smiled. "We can't just call him 'him' and 'he', can we? Doesn't he deserve a name?" Then her smile faded. "I decided," she said. "I'm going to give you Ratzy."

"You are?" he said, surprised. He'd made that offer, sure she wouldn't take him on it. "Why?"

"Well, two reasons," she replied as she continued to smooth down the fur between Rahta's ears. "For one, I don't feel right about keeping all four of the Eevees without you getting something in return. For another, when my Kakuna hatches, I want to keep the Beedrill." Then she frowned, obviously thinking of another reason. "And, besides _that_… with Manx, I already have a normal Pokémon. You have a couple birds and Saurus. You need a normal Pokémon."

"I do, do I?" he said, raising his right eyebrow skeptically.

"You can't back out of every fight you come across," she retorted. "And besides, don't you want to go back with at least a _couple_ of badges?" He shrugged. "I _saw_ you fight against Samurai. Joey Remshaw, you have a _talent_."

He shrugged again. "I don't know," he said. "I just… don't care, really. I don't want to fight my Pokémon. It doesn't seem fair to them."

"They _like_ it!" He shrugged yet again. She groaned, rolling her eyes. She put Rahta on the ground. "You are as hopeless as Manx!" He grinned. She rolled her eyes again. "I just don't get you. _Either_ of you."

The Rattata started off down the path, quicker now, since he was getting used to how the world seemed a little lopsided. He managed to walk in more of a straight line. Ivonar and Remmy followed, keeping quiet as the Rattata walked, then paused, sniffing the air, and continued. Finally, after a few minutes, he crawled under a bush. Almost immediately, he started whimpering.

"What's wrong?" Ivonar fell to her knees, peering under the bush. The Rattata pawed at what looked like a caved-in den, similar to the Eevees'.

"Ra?" he whimpered, peering through the bushes around the den. He crawled out again, turning his head this way and that. "Ra? Tata-ra?"

*

The humans didn't understand, but he saw it too clearly.

_She_ had left. _She_'d taken the two little ones, collapsed the den, and left.

Whimpering, he tried catching _her_ scent, but what traces of it he could find were faint, old. Where had _she_ gone? Where would _she_ go? Had _she_ seen what had happened - was that why _she_'d left? Did _she_ think that what had attacked him was going to come after their little ones? Why hadn't _she_ at least waited to see if he would return - or had he been asleep longer than he thought he had been, and _she_ _had_ waited? Tears stung his eyes, but he blinked them away: bad enough the missing whisker set him off-balance. He didn't need to be blinded by tears, too.

He shouted for _her_, abandoning caution. The humans were here: if he was lucky, and that orange blur came back, they would protect him. If he was _truly_ lucky, the blur was gone, and _she_ would return. He shouted, again and again, over and over.

No orange blur came to finish what it had started, but _she_ did not appear, either. A different male answered challengingly. He cringed, and fell silent; he did not want to fight over now worthless den-space, especially not in the condition he was in. All he wanted was to know if _she_ was all right, if the little ones were safe. He wanted to know where they were.

But all he knew was that they were gone.

He moaned, pushing his ears over his eyes, and cowered in sheer defeat. No! No! He'd held on for them! Where were they? How could they leave? Where could they be? Where? _Where?_

"_Where!_" he screamed in his own language, throwing his head back. "_Where are you?!_"

In reality, it sounded like he screeched, "_Reeeeeeeee!_" _Ree ah tah tah!!_" Both humans jumped, not expecting him to scream. Getting over her surprise quickly, the first human knelt down beside him and placed a gentle hand on his back. She frowned sympathetically, but remained silent. He whimpered pitifully, tears streaming from his eyes. The second human remained silent; the first said nothing as she remained still, kneeling down, with her hand resting comfortingly on his back. After a few minutes, he leaned against the first human's leg, weeping silently.

There was nothing left for him here.

Getting control of his tears, he looked up at the first human. Tears stung her eyes, too. Did she really feel so much for him to cry when he cried? How could a human care so much for someone who distrusted her?

Deciding, he crawled onto her knees, into her lap. He buried his face in her torso.

If she could care so much, so could he.

And, maybe, someday… he would find _her_ again, with this human to help him.

Then, low in his throat, he growled, almost silently, baring his teeth to her cloth coverings, where no one could see.

And maybe, someday… he would face that orange demon and its human master, and his master and he would make them _pay_.

*

"Looks like you got another Pokémon," Remmy said quietly.

Ivonar couldn't get over the surprise of having the one-whiskered Rattata crawl in her lap, when only a couple hours earlier he'd been baring his incisors at her. "I… guess so," she murmured, still dazed. She put her hand on Rahta's head.

He looked up at her. His eyes were blazing, angry. She removed her hand. He tossed his head, putting it back into her palm, then started to tip to that side. She chuckled a little as she got him upright again. "None of that yet," she chided him, but she kept her hand on his head. "They're not here, huh?" she murmured, rubbing his head gently. He closed his eyes, the last remnants of his tears falling from them. "I'm sure they're okay." Gently, she picked him up, wrapping her arm around his ribs and between his front legs, as she'd once carried Manx, when he was still a Meowth. Her elbow pressed gently but firmly against his hindquarters, holding them up. Rahta's tail rested against his hindquarters, rather than being held in the air, as it should have been. It would be some time before the Rattata could bear to hold his tail high again.

*

There was a big commotion when they returned to Viridian City.

"What's going on?" Ivonar demanded of a person running by.

It was one of the children who had been with the woman who had asked them about the Rattata. "The Pokécenter blowed up!" the child screamed gleefully, then continued running.

"It _what_?!" Ivonar screeched. She and Remmy sprinted into the city. Rahta's eyes went wide as he felt Ivonar's elbow dig into his hip, trying to keep him from slipping out of her grip. Then she shifted him to her chest, holding him in place with two arms instead of one, so that he'd be more comfortable. Still, his drooping tail was now bushed out, and his ears were laid back, sure signs of how spooked the humans' fear had him.

The two trainers ran straight for the column of smoke that billowed from near the center of the city. They didn't slow down one inch a second the entire way. Their horror and worry for their Pokémon made exhaustion irrelevant. It didn't matter that they shouldn't have been able to run so far so fast without fainting: it mattered that something may have happened to Char, Manx, Nasty, Nuisance, Pi, Pidge, Ratzy, Ro, Saurus, and the Kakuna, not to mention all their gear.

In spite of the child's bad grammar, the kid hadn't lied: the Pokécenter _had_, quite literally, blowed - er, blown - up. Only smoking ruins remained.

"Nuisance!" Ivonar screamed, racing forward. "Manx!"

"Ivonar!" Remmy grabbed her arm, swinging her backwards. "You can't go in there!" he shouted at her.

"What about Manx and Nuisance?" she demanded harshly. "What about Saurus and Char?"

"I'm worried too, but we can't go _in_ there!" he snapped in reply. "If they're okay, what good will it do them if you hurt yourself?"

"What do you mean, 'if they're okay'?" she shouted. "The whole thing is shrapnel! Destroyed! How could they be okay-"

"… unless they weren't in there?"

"-unless they weren't in there!" Ivonar shouted, then turned. "Huh?"

She was surprised to have something heavy ram into her leg. A rough grunt greeted her from below. She looked down, her mouth falling open in surprise and relief. "Manx!" She knelt down, spilling Rahta on the ground, and wrapped the tailless Persian in her arms, holding him as tight as she could. "You're okay!"

"_Prrt_," he agreed roughly, the sound bordering on a brief purr. He put a paw on her shoulder, as if to push her away, but didn't apply any pressure. He was embarrassed, not ungrateful.

"I have your pokéballs here," the person who'd spoken before said. Ivonar looked up at a person in a nurse's uniform, someone she didn't recognize. "Nurse Joy is dealing with your Eevees right now. She's at the Pokémart, trying to explain what happened to the store owner, and get that Pokémon food she promised you." She held a tray of pokéballs in each hand; the tray in her left hand had six pokéballs, while the one in her right had three.

"What about our stuff?" Ivonar asked. "I had a Kakuna in my backpack. And my bike!"

The nurse frowned. "I don't know about your bike," she said, "but I'm sure we can replace it if it was damaged. But I think someone took your backpacks before the explosion."

"What happened?" Remmy asked.

"Too much electricity from far too many Pikachus," the nurse replied. "I think the trainer responsible for the Pikachu who wasn't one of the Pokécenter's has left. I always thought we had too many Pikachus." She looked at each of them. "Do either of you want a Pikachu?"

Ivonar looked pointedly at Remmy. He frowned. "Why?"

The nurse frowned, looking left and right before answering quietly, "I think we have far too many Pikachus here at the Viridian Pokécenter. We use them in case of electrical outages. But look what happened when we did! One extra shouldn't have done so much damage. We'll have to put a few up for adoption. Obviously, they've gotten too strong."

Remmy sighed, looking at Ivonar's smug expression. "I think we can each take one," he replied.

Ivonar's expression immediately went from smug to upset. But-"

Remmy turned to her, grinning his rare grin. He laughed. "Eevee, you can't keep every Pokémon you get! How many do you have now, and how many have you sent to Professor Oak? Let's see - you've got four Eevees, Manx, Nuisance, a Pidgey, a Fearow, a Rattata - two, technically - a Kakuna, a Caterpie, and a Charmander. Twelve Pokémon - thirteen, technically. And you have sent _one_ to Professor Oak." He laughed again. "What happened to the rule where you're only supposed to carry _six_?"

Ivonar chuckled in spite of herself. Manx, having had enough of the mushiness, shoved against her shoulder with his paw, and went nose-to-nose with Rahta, a dangerous, bemused look on his face.

*

What're you looking at? he snapped at the big cat.

The cat smiled smugly at him. I don't know, he replied slowly. Dinner, maybe. 

Just you try, he snarled.

The cat just chuckled. You're wounded, and off-balance, he purred. Why shouldn't I eat you? 

Because I have nothing to lose, he replied coldly, his eyes narrowed dangerously.

The cat looked impressed. An interesting reason, he said. And what has made you lose everything besides your life? 

An orange demon, with flame and pain, he replied. A fire creature with fur, and sharp teeth. 

The smug smile left the Persian's face completely. A fire creature? he echoed, his smugness gone from his voice as well. One of my size, with teeth like my claws? The cat unsheathed his claws for a moment, to show him, before sheathing them again. He nodded wordlessly. The cat scowled, his ears rotating slightly backwards. I knew of a demon like that once, when I was your size, he said darkly. That demon cost me my tail, and my home. It cost me my brothers and mother. When I was finally able to search for them, they were gone, their scents old. 

He nodded slightly in sympathy. These humans and I just came back from my den. My mate collapsed it, taking my little ones with her. Their scents are unfollowable. They have been gone too long. 

Then you and I have something in common, rat. 

It seems so, cat. 

Which human do you follow? 

The one with amber eyes and dull brown hair. 

The smile returned to the cat's face, but the smugness was not as strong. She's a bit of a bother, but means well enough, the cat told him. She is an adequate master, but must be kept in her place. Be sure not to follow too easily. She expects too much when you do. Be stubborn. Don't always do what you're told. 

You deal with mastership your way, cat, Rahta told him firmly. I will deal with it mine. 

Manx simply smiled in return. Do as you wish, he replied, yawning. It means little to me. If you are not my dinner, little rat, then you are hardly my concern. 

Rahta smiled as well. Cats were inherently smug and self-centered, but this one seemed well enough. He followed the same master, which meant they were duty-bound to aid one another, and they had something in common.

Perhaps he had made a good choice after all.

*

While the Rattata and the Persian got to know one another - though none of the humans could understand the exchange, the fact that neither were trying to hurt the other was taken as a good sign - Remmy and Ivonar got their pokéballs organized. Ivonar handed over Ratzy's pokéball after giving him a hug goodbye, and five straight minutes of apologies. Then they followed the nurse to where their stuff had been relocated - a back room in the Pokémart. Around the packs, the four Eevees ran among at least a dozen Pikachus, trying to capture tails and tackle the rodents that outweighed them by at least twice. Some put up with the young Eevees' playfulness; others swatted them away. One was desperately trying to corral the Eevees together, but wasn't having much luck. "Pikapi!" it cried helplessly to Remmy and Ivonar. "Pi, pika pika pipichi!"

Ivonar laughed. "Hang on. Manx, come on!"

The Persian loped into the room. "P_rrrr_sh," he grunted, sitting down. Immediately, all four pairs of oversized Eevee ears perked up, and all four Eevees ran to him, mewling. The Pikachu slid off its feet, sighing heavily.

Remmy grinned, rubbing the Pikachu's head. "They're a handful, aren't they?"

"Pi," the Pikachu agreed, smiling tiredly.

The nurse came in. Immediately, all of the Pikachus lined up neatly in two rows. "Okay, you can each pick a Pikachu," she said. To the Pikachus, she added, "I'm sorry, but after what happened, I don't think all of you can stay with us. These two have proven to be very capable trainers, and I trust you to be in good hands with them. They'll be picking two of you to take with them. If there are any of you who really, _really_ don't want to be taken, move to the back row. Any of you who would not mind being taken, move to the front row."

There was some shuffling around, as several of the Pikachus switched rows. Soon, an even number stood forward as stood back, but a lot of them were in different places than they had been originally.

Remmy crouched down in front of the fourth Pikachu in the front line. "We could use another babysitter," he said with a grin. "They'll learn to listen if they get used to you. Want to try it?"

The Pikachu - the same one which had only moments before been trying to get the Eevees to behave - smiled a little skeptically, then trained a tolerant eye on the Eevees. Cole came up to the Pikachu, looking at it with equal skepticism, before bursting into a smile. "Eee!" he said, crouching down playfully.

"Pika pi," the Pikachu said, reaching out to ruffle the fur on Cole's head. Cole gave it a dirty look, and tried to tackle it. The Pikachu fell backwards, tossing Cole in the air above it. Cole giggled as he went in the air three times, before the Pikachu put him back down. Fluffball, not one to miss out on some fun, ran up, squeaking protests against being treated unfairly.

Ivonar giggled. "Looks like you guys are set." Then she frowned. "I'm afraid any Pikachu I take will have to go back to Professor Oak," she said. "You probably won't get to battle much. Are there any of you who'd just like to retire?"

The Pikachus in the front row looked at each other, none of them willing to really accept that. They'd stood in the front row because they wanted to be trained!

Finally, one of the Pikachus in the second row pushed forward. It was the oldest of them, a big, no-nonsense crab of a mouse the others knew better than to get in the way of. It crossed its arms, scowling harshly. "Pi, pi, kapi chi chika pikachu," it snapped. "Pichi pikapi chipi picha."

Manx burst out snickering. Sweetie looked at the Pikachu in utter shock. Static, Cole, Rahta, and Fluffball all looked at the Pikachu with equal disbelief. The other Pikachus glared at it disapprovingly, but quickly looked away before the older Pikachu could catch them.

The most literal translation of its words would be, "If you can promise that I won't have to lift a _paw_ for you, fine. If not, then you can take whatever pokéball you were gonna put me in and shove it up your butt."

"It says that if you promise it won't have to battle, it'll go with you," the nurse told Ivonar, choosing a more loose translation. That Pikachu had been nothing but grief from the moment they got it. He wasn't overly strong, electrically, but liked to push the others around physically. She felt a little ashamed, but she couldn't deny that she'd be happy to see someone else have to deal with it.

Ivonar raised her right hand. "I swear."

The Pikachu nodded once. "Pika," it agreed curtly.

Ivonar put out a pokéball, enlarging it first. The Pikachu walked forward, punching the button with its paw. The Pikachu disappeared in a glow of red light. Then the pokéball turned white, and vanished.

"Okay then," Ivonar said, smiling as she rubbed Manx's head. He glared at her tolerantly, then winced as Static tried climbing up his back. "Is everything set?"

"I don't see your bike anywhere," Remmy pointed out.

"I guess it didn't survive," the nurse murmured, frowning. "That's okay. I'm sure the garage where the Pokécenter kept its bikes is still intact. They'll let you two have some. Here." She reached into her apron, and pulled out two slips of paper. "These are vouchers. Give them to the garage attendant, and he'll give you a pair of bikes."

"I didn't have a bike, though," Remmy told her, frowning.

The nurse smiled. "That's okay. We won't need them until the Pokécenter's rebuilt, anyway."

Ivonar looked out the window. "I can't believe a bunch of Pikachus did all that."

"Neither can I," the nurse said. "But they did. Good luck with yours, young man. Good luck, both of you."

"Wait - is there a gym here?" Ivonar asked.

The nurse nodded. "Of course there is," she replied. "The Viridian Gym is very famous for its difficulty."

"In other words, I think we'd better come back later," Remmy said.

"Nonsense," Ivonar told him. "Where's your sense of adventure?"

"I forgot to pack it," he replied, completely straight-faced.

*

"_Closed?!_"

Ivonar banged on the door in frustration. "What do you mean, closed?!" she shouted at the sign on the door.

It hung there, an off-white, askew piece of cardboard, the single word written in tall, black letters.

__

CLOSED, it screamed at them.

Ivonar groaned in complete aggravation. "We come back _all this way_, _totally_ off track, and it's _closed_?!"

"We didn't come for the gym," Remmy reminded her, rubbing the fur between Sweetie's ears. She didn't like him as much as she liked Ivonar, but that was okay. "We came for your Pokémon."

She sighed, leaning her forehead on the door. "I know," she muttered. "We brought them here only to almost have them killed with the stupid center blowing up. I wanted to make it up to them."

"I don't think Manx minds," Remmy pointed out, looking at the Persian. "Do you, Manx?"

"Prrt," the Pokémon agreed, even as he placed a heavy paw on Cole's tail, to keep him from biting their new companion's tail. He gave the Pikachu a pointed look, one that read, _you owe me one_.

"Chia," the Pikachu grinned. She'd taken a liking to the name Remmy had given her, and used it whenever she could. She whirled to protect her tail from a fuzzier attacker, tackling Fluffball gently, and tossing her in the air. Fluffball squealed, kind of disappointed to have missed her target, but just as gleeful for the even better game.

Ivonar shifted the pack on her back with another sigh. "We should just leave," she muttered. "Go and get those bikes and head for Pewter City, I guess. That's the next closest gym, I think."

"Sure you don't want to hike it for awhile?" he asked. "Y'know, just backpack."

"Are you _kidding_?" she demanded. "Didn't you hear that nurse? That guy who destroyed the Pokécenter was a _trainer_! I am not letting _any_ trainer get ahead of me!" He grinned. "What?"

He shook his head, still grinning. "Nothing."

"Don't tell me nothing!"

"Your ears turn red when you get angry."

Her hands flew to her ears. "What?!"

He shrugged a little. "You asked. Come on, Chia."

"Chee," the Pikachu snickered, hurrying after her trainer, waving her tail to the Eevees. Cole quickly followed. Fluffball ran to catch up, with Static at her heels. Manx trotted along after the Eevees.

"Who asked you," Ivonar grumbled at the Pikachu, dragging her heels as she took up the rear of the procession.

As she passed through the fence surrounding the deserted gym, Ivonar stopped. She suddenly had this feeling, as if someone was watching her. Slowly, she turned around.

In the window on the top floor, a pair of long, cold eyes stared at her. She felt her blood run cold: never before had she seen such angry, bitter eyes. No glare Manx had ever given her even approached the boundless fury in that harsh, utterly joyless stare. She felt cold, drained. A shadow of despair and fear fell over her.

Those eyes…

For a moment, the furious eyes brightened, slowly, to glow a vague blue, when suddenly - they were just gone.

"Ivonar?"

She screamed, whirling.

Remmy's frown deepened into a scowl. "What's wrong?" he asked.

Ivonar turned back.

The eyes were gone.

She shivered, head to foot. "Let's just go," she whispered, barely able to breathe.

Ivonar's chill from the feel of those terrible eyes on her soon spread to the others. Remmy's scowl cemented to his face. Manx slowed his pace, taking up a discreetly protective position at her side. The Eevees stopped prancing about their heels, calming down. Sweetie cowered in Remmy's arms, then leaped to Ivonar's shoulders, curling her tail around her neck protectively. Cole whimpered softly as he huddled close to Chia; Fluffball and Static took up positions in the protected space between Manx's four silent paws. The feeling of dread became so thick that Manx growled slightly, and unsheathed his claws.

Something had happened, and he had missed it. That upset him.

He would not miss anything more.

__

Don't ask about the title - I just liked it. I tried to make it make sense - honest I did! ;-)


	4. Default Chapter Title

**__**

A Pallet Pair #4:

Fishing with Feet, and

Battling for Badges

Joey Remshaw flopped on the grass beside the river with a weary sigh, letting his borrowed bike crash to the ground. "My feet are killing me," he moaned, lying back. "We have to have moved twenty miles today."

"We have to make up time," Ivonar Marain insisted, setting her jaw as she put down her own borrowed bike's kickstand. She hid her own relief to sit down behind her scowl. "Whoever that other trainer was in Viridian City, they're not going to get ahead of us!"

Manx, the tailless Persian, fell on his stomach with a weary sigh, not caring, for the moment, that his feet were splayed in four different directions. He sighed as a pooped-out Eevee with a static-stiff tail curled up against his side. Another Eevee, with a thick coat of soft fur, managed to climb on his back before she, too, lay down. A third Eevee, this one somewhat smaller than the others and with a slightly darker pelt, leaped off Ivonar's shoulder to lay in her lap. A Pikachu, dragging her tail, half-carried, half-dragged the fourth Eevee - one with a black-tipped tail - to where the Persian lay, then slid off her feet to lean against his soft flank. Manx glared at her half-heartedly, then lay his head on the ground with a heavy sigh. He closed his eyes wearily, momentarily regretting that he had been too stubborn to return to his pokéball. The moment passed quickly, doing nothing to help his sore feet feel any better.

"We're not stopping for the day, are we?" Ivonar demanded.

"As far as I'm concerned, you can go right on ahead without me," her human companion replied bluntly. He sat up, then gripped one of his sneakers in both hands and pulled it off. He pulled off his sock and stuck his foot in the water with a sigh of pleasure. The cold water felt good on his reddened soles. "I'm stopping for the _week_."

"Remmy!" Ivonar cried, her voice dangerously close to a whine. "We can't stop for a _week_! We've barely _started_!"

He grinned as he took off his other shoe and sock. This time, he took the time to roll up his pantleg before putting his foot in the water. He pulled the other one out, rolling up the now wet pantleg, and put it back in. "Put your feet in the water, Eevee, it feels great," he told her. "And I was just joking. We can stop for a few hours to let our feet return to normal, can't we? I mean, the nurse told us the guy left on foot. We were biking _all_ of yesterday on the main path. We must have passed him a long time ago."

Ivonar frowned, biting her lip. "I wish you wouldn't joke," she muttered. "I'm serious. We were the first trainers out of Pallet, Remmy. We should be the first to get badges."

"You'll get your badges," he assured her, then reminded her, "but I'm just tagging along, remember?"

"Oh, please!" Ivonar chided him. "You don't want to go home with _nothing_, do you? For the last time, you have a _talent_, Joseph Remshaw. A _gift_. A -"

"Why do I doubt that this is the last time you're going to tell me that?" he interrupted with another grin. "I made one good move, Eevee. _One_. Count - _one_. Uno. Une. _One_."

Ivonar shook her head stubbornly. She kicked off her sneakers, then bent over to take off her socks. "I _saw_ you," she retorted. "You should have seen your face. You were so _into_ it. I cheered, and you didn't even blink. It was like it was life-and-death to you."

"It was." He wiggled his toes under the water. They were starting to go numb from the chill. "I wasn't going to let Saurus get hurt."

"Get-" She glared at him angrily. "Remmy, Saurus _likes_ to fight! _He_ isn't worried about getting _hurt_!"

"At least one of us is," he snapped, startling her. He looked away, his usually intent expression sullen. His normally straight-line mouth was turned down. "I hate the battles. What's the point? How many times have your mom and dad told you that fighting is wrong, huh? How many times have _your_ parents told you that it's wrong to hit people, or hurt people, or attack people?"

Ivonar frowned. "This isn't about people. It's about Pokémon. It's different for them."

"Is it? Pidgeys and Rattatas coexist peacefully in the wild – it says so right in the Pokédex. It's proven fact. But how many trainers battle Rattatas and Pidgeys against each other? It's unnatural."

"I- I never thought of it like that," Ivonar murmured. She thought of her own Pokémon, and how she had gotten them. "But battling is necessary, too. It makes Pokémon stronger. If Manx had been trained when he was a Meowth, before my mom found him, he might've stood a chance against whatever took off his tail." Manx opened one eye, glaring at Ivonar for bringing up the unpleasant memory, then put a protective paw over the bushed-tailed Eevee beside him. He closed his eye again. "If Rahta had been trained, whatever happened to him might not have."

"Generally, the only reason Pokémon get trained is to protect them from other trained Pokémon," Remmy stated flatly. "Pokémon work fine on their own until a trained one comes along and beats them up."

"You really hate this, don't you?"

"I don't _hate_ it." Remmy slid closer to the water, soaking his legs to his knees. He swung his legs and kept wiggling his toes, to fend off the numbness the cold water threatened him with. "I just don't completely agree with it, that's all. That's the problem sometimes - I always see two sides of things. There's never just one way of things. There's always at least two. Sometimes more. It's like- EE-_youch_!"

"Like youch?"

Remmy wasn't amused. He threw his weight back, lying on his back as he threw his feet in the air. Something blue and sleek, its legless body glistening in the muted sunlight, flipped through the air over his head, to land a few yards behind them. "I got bit!" he yelled, surprised. He rolled over, getting on his hands and knees. "What the heck _bit_ me?" He crawled forward, to the serpentine creature that lay wiggling on the ground. "What _is_ it?"

"I have no idea," Ivonar replied, getting up. She walked over, and crouched down next to him. Remmy sat back, kneeling, and picked up the creature. It was about as long as Ivonar was tall and eel-like, but its head resembled that of Ivonar's Charmander, Char. Two swooping, pale gray fins grew from either side of its lizard-like head, and two dark, royal violet, frightened eyes stared into Remmy's own, detailless gray ones.

"It's okay," Remmy said softly. He held the long, eel-like lizard up to look at it from his own eye level. Its tail lashed weakly below it, then stopped, as it regarded him with its gentle, beautifully violet eyes.

"It's so beautiful," Ivonar whispered, smiling in spite of herself. Manx chuffed out his nose, opening his eyes a little to see what had them so worked up.

The serpentine tail stopped lashing completely, and the fear in the creature's eyes faded away. Suddenly, its eyes narrowed as its tiny mouth turned up in a smile. It squealed slightly, a little, whistle-like croon.

Ivonar got up quickly, going back to her bike. She dug in one of the side baskets, and pulled out her Pokédex. She'd done a little custom programming to get it to do what she wanted it to, in the rare cases such as this one, when she needed it. She pointed it at Remmy and what he held in his hands. The mechanical machine intoned:

"_Dratini, a dragon Pokémon. Long considered a mythical Pokémon until recently, when a small colony was found living underwater. Evolves into Dragonair and Dragonite._"

"A Dratini?" Ivonar echoed. She'd heard about them, but what she'd heard was that catching them was as good as impossible. "You stick your foot in a river and fish out a _Dratini_?"

Remmy grinned, chuckling a little. The Dratini's eyes narrowed even farther in an even happier expression. It crooned its odd, high note. "Guess I got tasty feet." The Dratini's eyes closed as it trilled cheerfully. He rubbed its head. "Kinda cute, ain't it?"

Ivonar giggled, shoving her Pokédex back in her bag. "_Kind_ of?"

The Dratini tossed its tail upward, and wrapped it around Remmy's arm. It cooed as the entire length of its tail wound gently, but firmly, around the length of his arm, right up to his shoulder. His mouth fell open as it wound, coil by coil. He shook his arm a little: the creature held firm. "Hey!" It trilled again, slipping out of his hands to coil back on itself, now twisting _up_ his arm to rest its head on his shoulder. "What're you up to - besides my shoulder, huh?"

Ivonar giggled again. "Remmy, don't look now, but I think you've reached Pokémon number six."

He looked at her, a little startled, then at the Dratini, whose length completely hid his arm from the wrist to the shoulder. It had its large, tender eyes shut as it snored softly. "No way I can-"

"No way, buster," Ivonar cut him off, crossing her arms firmly. "There isn't _any_ chance of you giving a Pokémon to me _this_ time! It bit _your_ foot, _you_ fished it out - I haven't even _touched_ it! Besides," she giggled, "it seems more attached to your arm than you are."

Remmy laughed. He watched the Dratini's face carefully as he stood up. It didn't even twitch, though the tip of its tail wove gently back and forth. He walked back to the river, and put his feet back in. Ivonar sat beside him. She was wearing shorts, so she didn't have to worry about rolling up her pantlegs. "I guess it is, huh?" He frowned a little. "Wonder how you can tell what it is? Male or female?"

"I guess it'll let you know when it wakes up," Ivonar teased.

"Oh, be qui-IEE!" This time, rather than reacting as badly as the first time, Remmy simply lifted the pained foot out of the water.

It was small, smaller than the Dratini, maybe two feet tall. Its small, puckered mouth was overextended to clamp on Remmy's foot. It stared wide-eyed at them. "Not another catch!" Remmy groaned. He shook his foot, but the terrified Poliwag couldn't let go. "Get it off, _please_! It's _biting_ me!"

After a moment, Ivonar managed to stop laughing long enough to grab the small Pokémon and pry its frozen mouth off of Remmy's foot. "You're a regular Slowpoke!" she giggled. She crossed her legs, putting the Pokémon in the hollow between her knees. She rubbed her hand soothingly, back and forth, over its smooth head. "Except you use your feet instead of your tail!"

"Without a tail, I use what I got," Remmy replied wryly. He pulled his unbitten foot out of the water, and tucked it underneath his other leg. He cringed as he looked at his foot. "Jeez, now I'm bleeding. Great." He looked, scowling, at the four dots of red that slowly grew larger on his foot. "I can _feel_ the other four on the bottom."

"Stop whining," Ivonar told him, standing again. She put the Poliwag down on the ground. Going back to her bag, she pulled out some medical tape. She glanced at her Kakuna, still free of any pokéball, before turning around. It showed no interest in hatching into a Beedrill. It simply rested in her bike basket, staring blandly at nothing in particular. "First Manx's foot, now yours," she said, shaking her head. "It's either me or one of the Eevees next!"

"Or back to Manx again." Remmy grinned at the halfhearted glare Manx gave him. Then he looked at the Poliwag, frowning. "That really hurt, you know," he told it. It whined softly, cowering.

"Oh, leave it alone," Ivonar scolded him. "Gimme your foot." She knelt down, dipping a corner of a bandana her mother had packed in her gear in the water, cleaned off his foot, dried it with the rest of the cloth, and quickly wrapped tape around his foot twice, to cover the small holes. "They're barely puncture wounds. They'll be gone without a trace in a couple days."

"Yes, Mom," he replied.

She glared at his grin. "Knock it off," she told him tolerantly, standing up again. She wrapped the roll of tape in the bandana and quickly shoved it back into her side basket. Then she picked up the Kakuna, and, holding it close, sat back down at the side of the river. She stuck her feet back in. "Let's see if _I_ can catch anything. How'd you do it?"

"Just swing your legs and wiggle your toes. Keep moving."

Ivonar sat there for a few moments, the Kakuna watching disinterestedly. She'd been keeping it with her as much as possible, hoping that it'd like her by the time it evolved into a Beedrill, so she wouldn't have to keep it in a pokéball all the time. In spite of her bad experience with Beedrills, the sound of their wings was kind of soothing. "Wonder how long before he hatches," she murmured.

"Depends how long it's been a Kakuna," Remmy said. "Usually takes about a week."

"I know that." She frowned, resting her hand on it. It blinked, but otherwise didn't respond. "I just wish I knew when he's going to hatch, so I can be ready, you know? I don't want to be asleep or something."

"Put it in a pokéball while you sleep. Then it won't hatch while you're asleep."

"I don't want to do that." She rubbed her hand on the Kakuna's hard husk. "That wouldn't be nice to you, would it?" The Poliwag toddled over to the Kakuna, curious. The Kakuna's cold eyes shifted, looking at it skeptically. The Poliwag frowned a little, as if confused. Ivonar smiled at it. "What's wrong, little guy?" The Poliwag looked at her, uttered an odd, chirp-like sound, then looked at the Kakuna again. "You better not be considering biting him, too, because then he'll harden and break whatever you have passing for teeth." 

Remmy chuckled. "Ivonar, you can't just get a whole herd of Pokémon following you around! You _have_ to use your pokéballs eventually. That's what they're for."

Ivonar pouted. "Hey, you don't like battles? Fine. I don't pokéballs. At least, not in _most_ cases." She and Manx shared a mutual glare.

Remmy grinned to himself, shaking his head. He patted his new friend on the head. It trilled softly in its sleep.

*

After an hour, they put their shoes and socks back on, and Remmy rolled down his pantlegs. "I can't believe I didn't catch a _thing_," Ivonar pouted. Static scampered out of the water, his tail's bushiness unaffected by wetness. He shook off: he'd been having fun in the shallows, swimming with the Poliwag, which hadn't gone away.

Remmy cringed as he slipped his sock over one of his feet. Now, both were bandaged. "You can have Ouch-Three."

"No chance. It's your feet. Besides, you already gave me Ouch-Two."

Remmy frowned a little, gingerly putting his sneaker on. "What is it about my feet? In an hour, you catch nothing, I catch three Magikarp." Each time the Magikarp had bitten his foot - but only the foot Drake and the Poliwag had _not_ bitten, of course - Remmy had shouted, "Ouch!", so, at least for the moment, they were called Ouch-One, Ouch-Two, and Ouch-Three. He cringed as he put on his other sock. "I don't know which of us is luckier."

Drake trilled from where it was firmly wrapped around Remmy's waist. Remmy laughed, rubbing its head. "Hey, didn't mean it to sound that way. It's just that I'm going to have to bike with really sore feet." Drake trilled, loosening its grip on his waist to slither up his back and put its head back on his shoulder. It was so long, it could still wrap around his waist twice, even with its head on his shoulder. He hadn't been able to figure out if Drake was a guy or a girl, though.

Ivonar gently but firmly wedged her Kakuna in the right basket on her bike. "Come _on_, Remmy. Enough fooling around." She put on her cracked helmet, then got on the bike. She took Sweetie off her shoulder and put her in the front basket of her bike.

Remmy stood up and stretched. "Okay, Drake," he said, patting the Dratini on the head, "hate to do this, but you have to get off. I can't bike with you wrapped on me." Drake whimpered, hurt, but wound around his legs, looping down to the ground. Remmy went to his own bike, getting a pokéball out of his bag. "Sorry, but you're not like the Eevees," he told the Pokémon. "For one thing, you're a water Pokémon, and it's not fair to keep you out of the water most of the time. For another, you're just too big."

Drake pouted a little, looking at him with sad, royal violet eyes, but it slithered across the grass to encircle his feet. Aiming the enlarged ball down, he tapped the button. In a flash of red light, Drake disappeared into the ball.

"Eee!" Static cried, still standing on the riverside. He stood next to the Poliwag, which _still_ hadn't gone back into the water. "Ee, eve vee?"

"Eevee," Remmy said, addressing Ivonar, "I think Static wants to bring his new friend along."

"No way," Ivonar said, shaking her head. "You fished it out. It's yours."

"Aw, just take it. What are you going to do with a Magikarp? You could use a stronger water Pokémon."

Ivonar glared at him. "I'll have you know that Nuisance is a strong enough water Pokémon, thank you very much."

"Static's attached to it."

"So? Let Static keep it."

"Static's yours."

Ivonar was about to retort, when she realized she'd backed herself into a corner. If Static kept it, and Static was hers, that made the Poliwag hers, too. She scowled at Remmy's sudden grin. "I hate you."

"Oh really?"

She sighed, chuckling in spite of herself. "But only in the best possible way." She reached into her bag to get another pokéball.

"Well, then, that's okay."

Ivonar pulled out the pokéball, then frowned. "I can't keep it, though," she murmured. "I have my six. Char, Nuisance, Manx, Pidge, Ro, and Rahta. Either I have to send it to Professor Oak, or I have to send someone else."

"Professor Oak will probably take good care of it."

Ivonar shrugged a little. "That's true. Let's see if we can do this the easy way first." She tossed the ball underhanded. It struck the Poliwag in the forehead. With a _pop_ it snapped open, and the Poliwag dissolved in a flare of red light. The ball wiggled for a little while, the button glowing red, then stopped. The button's glow faded. Static stared at the ball for a little while, seemed to shrug, then started butting it with his head, bringing it back to Eevee. She giggled as he pushed it across the grass. "Why thank you, Static," she told him, picking him up. The ball turned white, then vanished. "But I'm afraid your new friend isn't going to be with us." She put him in the basket beside Sweetie. "Are you ready yet, Remmy?"

He climbed onto his own bike, strapping on the helmet the Pokécenter garage worker had so kindly given to him. "Guess so."

Manx picked up Cole by the scruff of the neck, carrying him to Remmy, who put him in the front basket of his bike. Cole complained until Chia hopped into the basket with him. Manx then grabbed Fluffball by the scruff, giving her to Ivonar to put in the side basket without the Kakuna. "_Prrt_," he snorted, shaking his head. He gave his whiskers a quick cleaning with one paw, then started off down the path again.

"I agree," Ivonar cheered. "Let's go!"

*

"Well, it's…" Ivonar tried to come up with something better to say, but only one word came to mind. "…gray."

"Very gray," Remmy agreed.

They wheeled their bikes into Pewter City. It was smaller than Viridian City, older. There was a hint of history in the air, along with a staleness that came from a bit too much dust. Somehow, the entire city reminded Ivonar of a dusty attic filled with treasures from the past, hidden away in neat little chests disguised as houses.

"Wonder where the gym is," she murmured. Manx snorted.

"If there's a Pokécenter somewhere, we can get a place to stay besides outside, and maybe ask where it is," Remmy suggested.

"Wait!" Ivonar hurried forward, to check out what she thought she'd seen.

She was right.

The structure was huge and granite gray, more of an edifice than a building. It was _huge_! She stared in awe as Remmy hurried to catch up. "Big," he commented.

"Very big," she agreed. "Very old," she added.

"Very," he agreed.

"We ready?"

"More importantly, are _you_ ready?"

"As I'll ever b- no, wait!" She put down her kickstand, then got out her Pokédex. "Look around us," she told him. "This whole place is built out of rock. How much would you be willing to bet that the gym leader here has rock Pokémon?"

"That'd probably be a safe bet," Remmy agreed.

Ivonar flipped open her Pokédex. "I know it isn't all that strong, but that Poliwag is a water Pokémon, and water Pokémon can have an advantage over rock Pokémon. Better safe than sorry."

"I guess so. _You're_ going first this time."

"Huh?" She looked at him, confused. Then she understood. "Oh. Yeah. Okay." Then she hit the side of the Pokédex. "Come on! I want to transfer Pidge back to Professor Oak, you stupid machine! I want that Poliwag! Work!"

Remmy sighed. "It's not cooperating?"

"Very funny." Ivonar scowled. "It keeps telling me I can't transfer Pidge back to Professor Oak because I have too many Pokémon. But I want to transfer him so I _don't_ have too many Pokémon, not the other way around!"

"Maybe it's jammed."

"Maybe." Ivonar sighed. She leaned gingerly against her bike, careful not to tip it over. She glanced at her Kakuna. "I've had you four days," she told it, frowning. "You might hatch while I'm in there." She sighed. "Guess I'll put you in a pokéball, so you don't." She reached into her bag, taking out an empty ball, and enlarged it. She tapped the button again, then touched it to the Kakuna. It disappeared in a flash of red light. A moment later, with a more muted flash of white light, the ball disappeared too. "Remmy, why don't we go in? You go first. If I can't get this to work, then that's that, but I want to try to get that Poliwag back."

"I guess so." Remmy opened the door, then gestured for Ivonar to go in first, but she waited for Sweetie to jump from her basket to her shoulder. Manx pulled Static and Fluffball out of their baskets. Chia picked up Cole and jumped out of their basket. Finally, the eight of them entered the gym.

"Who goes there?"

Ivonar stopped short, and looked up from fiddling with her Pokédex. Manx stopped as well, sitting beside her, and stepped on Fluffball's tail to keep her from scampering onto the gym field. Remmy stopped just behind Ivonar, and looked as well.

He sat on a slightly raised platform. He was a few years older than them, dark-skinned and lean. His features fit his hometown, with his narrow eyes and sharply cleft chin, sharp cheekbones and wide shoulders. "What do _you_ want?" he demanded rudely.

Remmy stepped around Ivonar, walking onto the gym floor. "I want to go home, actually," he replied, "but my parents insisted I do a little training first."

The young man snorted. "If you're not serious, go home. You waste my time."

"I'm quite serious," Remmy assured him. Chia grabbed Cole before he ran onto the gym floor. Manx's other forepaw moved to step warningly on Static's bushy tail, so that he didn't attempt the same thing. "Unfortunately, I have to challenge you to a match."

The young man's eyes shifted to Ivonar. "Is _she_ a supposed trainer, too?"

"She has dibs on the next match. She's having trouble transferring the Pokémon she wants, so I'm stuck going first."

"I only do one match a day."

Remmy looked at Ivonar. She sighed heavily, shrugging a little. "Then she'll go tomorrow," Remmy suggested.

"Fine. Whatever." The young man stood up. "My name is Brock," he snapped. "Here's the rules: two Pokémon each. You can withdraw them and send them out and all that, as much as you want, but you can only use two. Understood?"

"Understood."

"Good. I hate to repeat myself." Brock turned around slightly, and hit a switch behind him.

With a loud rumble, two sides of the gym started to move. Remmy jumped back, off the field, as two huge glaciers of rock slid into place over the gym floor. Brock stepped easily down from his little platform onto the fighting field: Remmy had to climb up a bit to get on.

Brock unhooked a pokéball from his belt. "Geodude, go!" he shouted, throwing the ball. It snapped open, and, in a flare of red light, what looked like a large rock with a face and arms came into being. It floated in thin air, glaring at Remmy.

Remmy frowned a little, considering his Pokémon, before pulling a pokéball out of his coat pocket. "I choose Saurus," he declared, holding out the pokéball. It opened, letting Saurus go.

"Geodude, tackle attack!" Brock barked, as soon as the Bulbasaur solidified. The Geodude zipped through the air, straight for the Bulbasaur.

"Saurus, dodge!" Remmy snapped. The Bulbasaur shot right just before the Geodude crashed into him. "Return the attack!"

The Geodude barely had time to turn around before the Bulbasaur rammed into it, but it barely flinched.

"Geodude, rock throw!" Brock shouted.

"Geo!" the Geodude declared, zipping out of Saurus's reach. It grabbed a rock from the field and chucked it at the Bulbasaur.

"Saurus, deflect it with Vine Whip!" It took both vines, and Saurus flinched in pain as the rock hit the long appendages, but bruised vines were better than bruised body. "Leech Seed it, now!"

A determined look crossed Saurus's face, and he closed his eyes. A small seed sprouted from the bulb on his back. Saurus opened his eyes again, glaring at the Geodude, and the seed shot from his bulb, as if blasted from a cannon.

"Geodude, dodge!" The seed fell harmlessly on the field.

"Saurus!" Remmy snapped, his eyes narrowed. "Leech Seed again, as fast as you can, one right of the Geodude, one left! Now!"

Saurus grit his teeth. Leech Seed wasn't exactly an easy move: it took concentration to force the seeds out of his bulb, aim, and shoot them. But his trainer had already proven that he was good at his work, so he did as he was told. He forced a seed up, aimed, and fired it, slightly right. The Geodude moved left to keep it from hitting its right arm. But, as it moved, its narrow left shoulder was hit with the second seed. Feeling its energy, the parasitic seed burst open, entangling it in a sudden forest of vines. Surprised, the Geodude crashed to the ground. There was a faint glow as the seed began to drain its energy.

"Tackle it!" Remmy ordered. Saurus ran forward, ramming into the rock Pokémon. It didn't hurt as much as it had the first time, now that it was cushioned with the thick vines. "Again! Don't let it up!" Saurus rammed the Geodude again, a third time, fourth, even a fifth.

Before he could aim a sixth, though, the rock Pokémon began to falter upward again. The vines of the Leech Seed loosened, falling away. "Geo… dude," the Geodude slurred. It rocked in midair, dipping right. "Geo…" Its eyes rolled up. "Duuuuuuuude…" It crashed back to the ground on its back.

"Impressive," Brock said, raising one brown eyebrow slightly as he recalled his Geodude. "You show promise, though you're _obviously_ an amateur." He pulled out another pokéball. "But beginner's luck isn't all there is to winning battles, kid. Go, Onix!" He threw out the second pokéball.

The flash was huge, almost blinding. A harsh roar filled the air as the enormous Pokémon within the ball was set free.

Though Ivonar's chin dropped, no hint of surprise crossed Remmy's unnaturally serious face. He looked up at the huge Pokémon with emotionless determination. "Saurus."

Saurus, meanwhile, stared with his mouth open. A Geodude was one thing: it was at least his size! _This_ thing… he wasn't even as big as _one_ of its segments! It was _huge_! How could _anything_ hurt something so _gigantic_? He looked at Remmy with sheer disbelief. What could he possibly do to weaken _that_ thing?

But, fortunately for the Bulbasaur, that wasn't what Remmy wanted. He held out Saurus's pokéball. "Return." Saurus was only too glad to do so. Remmy put away the pokéball in one pocket, then pulled another out of another. He looked at the ball for a moment, considering, then held it out. "Give it your best shot, Drake." With a flare of red light, the Dratini materialized in front of the Onix.

"A _Dratini_?" Brock gasped. "Where'd you catch a Dratini?"

A vaguely smirk-like expression crossed Remmy's face for a moment, then was gone. "It kinda caught me, actually." His sharp, determined face returned. "Drake, Water Gun, right in the face!"

The Dratini glanced at him, surprised.

"Onix, Bind!" Brock shouted.

Drake twisted around again, but was too late before the giant Onix caught it in its coils and squeezed. The Dratini squealed.

Remmy bared his teeth. "_Drake_!" he shouted even louder. "_Water Gun in the face_!"

The Dratini twisted itself to face the Onix, opened its small mouth, and shot a thick, cold spray right in its eyes. The Onix roared in pain as it flinched. Its coils loosened. Drake squirmed free, its slick, rubbery body sliding easily against the Onix's hard segments. It fell to the ground and hurried to get out of the way as the Onix thrashed, trying to get the water out of its eyes.

"Drake, Pound!" Remmy shouted. "Keep focused on the head!"

Drake turned again. So, the Onix was an enemy, huh? Its beautiful eyes narrowed dangerously. It slithered quickly to the Onix, and, before it could attack again, began winding itself up its segments, heading for the head.

"Onix, slam it against the ground!" Brock shouted.

The Onix tried to obey, but Drake was too fast. Before the Onix could slam it into the ground, it was on its other side, safe from crashing to the ground. The Onix thrashed, slamming into the ground again and again, but all it did was weaken itself.

"Onix, go underground!" The Onix reared up, preparing to do as it was told.

"Drake, get clear!" The Dratini slipped off the Onix as it crashed into the rock floor, slamming through it. "Water Gun it as it goes down!" Drake reared up, spraying the Onix's segments as they disappeared. The floor rumbled with the Onix's underground roar of pain. "Follow it down and keep gunning it!" Drake leaped into the hole.

Brock had obviously sent the Onix underground in hopes of giving it cover, but with one fault to that:

With the Dratini down there, too, it was trapped.

"Onix, come back up! Now!" Brock shouted as loudly as he could, but the Onix didn't return. The underground rumble continued for a long minute, then fell silent. The entire gym was silent. Brock, Remmy, Ivonar, Manx… everyone's eyes were on the hole in the middle of the gym. What would emerge first?

Suddenly, the rumble returned. Rocks shot into the air as the Onix burst out of the ground close to where Brock stood. It sailed into the air like a whale breaching from the ocean, crashing to the ground and scuttling as fast as it could from its exit hole. It was easy to hear its labored breathing in the quiet of the gym.

From the second hole, Drake calmly slithered out, giving Brock a cold glance before it continued after its adversary.

"Onix!" Brock shouted. "Body slam!"

The Onix turned, but it had obviously slowed down. It knew its opponent was strong, so it was wary. It took careful aim. It looked its enemy in the eye, trying to judge if it would dodge left or right. It shot forward, its aim perfect.

"Drake, Leer!" Remmy snapped. The Dratini met the Onix's careful scrutiny with a powerful glare, its gentle purple eyes burning a harsh blue. For a moment, the Onix seemed to falter two feet from the Dratini, caught off-guard. "Water Gun, _now_!" Drake opened its small mouth, and blasted the Onix as hard as it could from point-blank range.

The Onix, in a half-hearted attempt to avoid the attack, veered left, but all it did was cause its own attack to fail. It slammed into the ground, hard. The Dratini kept spraying it in the head. The Onix closed its eyes, groaning in defeat.

"Enough!" Brock snapped.

"Drake, that's enough." Remmy echoed. Drake stopped spraying the Onix. It slithered across the gym, winding up Remmy's legs to anchor itself around his waist, with its head resting over his shoulder.

"Onix, return." Brock held out the Onix's pokéball. It disappeared in a flare of red light. Then he regarded Remmy - and a smile broke his chiseled face. "For one, I was willing to write it off as beginner's luck," he said, "but I see now that I was wrong. You really have a skill with your Pokémon, kid. How long have you been training them?"

"Truthfully?" Remmy rubbed Drake's head. "I've had Saurus for almost a week. I just got Drake this morning." He chuckled, grinning. "I was lucky it knew what I wanted it to do, because I didn't know if it did."

Brock raised one eyebrow. "Then I guess it was luck after all." He reached into his pocket. "Luck or no, you still won. The Boulder Badge is yours." He pulled his hand out of his pocket again, and walked across the gym floor. He held out his hand. Remmy reached out, and he took the small gray badge in his hand. "Congratulations."

"Thanks." Remmy looked at the small badge for a moment, then showed it to Drake. "Look what you and Saurus won, Drake." The Dratini trilled, cocking its head to the side in curiosity.

Brock nodded. "A victory is a victory, as much for the Pokémon as it is for the trainer."

Remmy shook his head. "All I did was suggest what to do. They did it. It's their victory." He rubbed Drake's head again. He looked at the badge again, not exactly sure what to do with it.

Brock saw the look of confusion on his face, and laughed softly. "Some trainers pin their badges to their shirts, or inside their jackets," he told him. "Others carry them in boxes."

"Oh." Remmy frowned a little, then shrugged. He pinned the badge to the collar of his jacket. Then he held out his hand again. "I'm Remmy, by the way." Brock shook his hand. "That's Ivonar over there, but most people call her Eevee."

"Eevee?" Brock frowned a little, then shrugged slightly. "People just call me Brock." He patted the pokéballs clipped to his belt. "Better get these guys to the Pokécenter, if they're to test Ivonar's skills tomorrow."

"Saurus could probably use some attention, too. Your Geodude got his vines awfully bad with that rock." Still rubbing Drake's head, Remmy started to walk off the gym floor.

"I'll see you there," Brock called after him, heading back for the platform. "I have to close down the gym."

Remmy was careful to keep a straight face as Ivonar looked at him knowingly. "I _told_ you, _you_ have _skill_!"

"Just as I told you that last time wasn't going to be the _last_ time you told me that," he retorted, heading out the door. Ivonar hurried to follow, leaving Manx and Chia to round up Cole, Static, and Fluffball. "And as Brock just said, I have beginner's luck. It'll pass."

"Why are you so desperate to deny that you have a _talent_, Joseph Remshaw!"

He slowed down to let her catch up, so she could see his grin. "Maybe I like my head the way it is."

"Huh?"

Remmy just laughed, kicking up his kickstand as he tried to wheel away his bike without returning Drake to its pokéball, but it didn't quite work. Realizing that it was making his job harder, Drake slithered off Remmy, twining itself around the frame of the bike, resting its chin between the handlebars. Ivonar hurriedly put Static and Fluffball in the front basket on her bike and Cole in one of the side ones, let Chia perch on the seat, and wheeled her bike after Remmy. Manx trotted after her.

*

Ivonar looked at her skeptically. "So you're _not_ Nurse Joy from Viridian?"

The nurse shook her head, smiling. "Oh, no. People are always asking me that, but I just tell them, there's a few of us Joys out there. We just happen to look a lot alike, that's all." She took Saurus's and Drake's pokéballs into the back room.

Remmy flopped onto a couch. He craned his neck so he could look down at his badge without touching it.

Ivonar flopped down next to him. Sweetie jumped off her shoulder into her lap. "Aren't you proud of yourself?"

"I'm proud of Saurus and Drake. What do I have to be proud about? They earned it, not me."

Ivonar rolled her eyes. "Not _this_ again…" she muttered. She rubbed her forehead. "Remmy, why-"

"Because I don't believe it, okay?" he told her, looking at her seriously. "Like Brock said, I have beginner's luck. I was lucky Drake knew all those attacks. I was lucky Saurus was able to use so many Leech Seeds so fast. I was lucky Saurus's vines were strong enough to knock aside that rock. I was _lucky_, Ivonar. I am not _skilled_. I am _lucky_."

Ivonar rolled her eyes, shaking her head, but didn't bother disagreeing. Remmy could be just as stubborn as she was sometimes.

The door _whooshed_ open, and a now familiar, tall, lean figure strode into the Pokécenter. "Hey, Remmy, Ivonar," Brock greeted them with a smile. Remmy nodded to him as he walked passed. Ivonar offered him a little wave. He rang the bell on the desk.

"Be there in a minute!" Nurse Joy called cheerfully.

Ivonar glanced at Brock, then did a double-take. His ears were all red…

The nurse returned, then smiled broadly. "Why, hello, Brock!"

"H-hello, Nurse Joy," he stammered.

"What brings you here? Did someone win a badge?"

"Uh, uh uh-huh." Brock smiled a little strangely. "And how are _you_, Nurse Joy?"

"Really! Who got so lucky?"

"Him." Brock chucked his thumb over his shoulder at Remmy. "Nurse Joy, are you-"

Nurse Joy leaned away from him, and smiled at Remmy. "Congratulations!"

"Say that to my Pokémon, okay?" Remmy called back.

Nurse Joy's smile widened. "I'll do that." She regarded Brock again. "You'll have to wait until we're done with his Pokémon, I'm afraid. We're totally full at the moment. It won't be too much longer, though."

Brock smiled almost drunkenly. "Okey dokey," he replied. He watched her wistfully as she hurried back to work.

"_Full_?" Ivonar groaned. "I guess we're camping out again tonight!" She pounded her fist into the couch. "Unless they'll let us sleep in the lobby…"

Ivonar moved her fist as Brock wandered over, so he could have space on the couch too. "If you don't mind a bit of crowding and lots of little kids, you could stay with me," he offered, sitting down.

"Really?" Remmy asked, surprised.

"Sure." Brock smiled. "It's the least I can do, after you beat me like that. You're _sure_ you haven't been training for awhile? A couple years, maybe?"

Remmy shook his head. "Just started last week, and only 'cause my parents kicked me out of the house. I didn't want to."

"You didn't _want_ to?"

"That's what _I_ keep saying," Ivonar told the older boy. "I mean, Remmy has actual talent, but when I try to _tell_ him that, he either dismisses it as luck, or says it was all the Pokémon, without any of his help."

"All I did was suggest what they do," Remmy said again. "They didn't actually have to do it."

"But they did, and because they did, they won," Brock said.

"That isn't necessarily true," Remmy disagreed. "If they can win with me telling them what to do, they could probably win without me, just as easy."

Brock shook his head. "When Pokémon fight, they run on instinct. That's why trained ones fight better than wild ones. Trained ones learn to consider their moves, to actually plan instead of simply reacting. But even then, most Pokémon aren't as smart as humans. They don't plan as well, or as far ahead."

"I was totally winging it back there," Remmy insisted. "I wasn't planning ahead. _I_ was reacting."

"Sometimes," Brock said, "instinct works just as well as planning."

"So you totally take back what you just said about planning?" Remmy asked with a grin.

"Well, er- I- um…" Brock rubbed the back of his head.

"Don't bother," Ivonar told him with a grin. "Remmy likes to back people into corners."

"That's not true," Remmy disagreed.

"Is too," Ivonar retorted.

"Your Bulbasaur and Dratini are as good as new!" Nurse Joy called from the desk. Immediately, Brock's entire face turned brilliant red. "Your Geodude and Onix will be ready in about half an hour, Brock." Remmy got up to get his pokéballs.

Ivonar elbowed Brock. "Hey, are you okay?"

"Swell," Brock replied with a goofy grin.

Ivonar rolled her eyes. "O…kay," she muttered, dropping the subject.

*

"Like I said, I hope you guys like little kids."

"I have a little brother," Ivonar told him. "I can stand them."

"I have a little brother and a baby sister," Remmy added. "I think I can handle it."

"I have ten little brothers and sisters," Brock said. "One or two doesn't compare."

Ivonar and Remmy traded half surprised, half worried glances. "_Ten_?" Ivonar echoed.

"Yup. Get ready." Brock stopped at the house they were in front of, unlocked the door, and pushed it open. "Hey everybody! I'm home!"

A little girl ran up, bawling. "Sammy made me trip and rip my skirt!" she screamed.

"I did not!" another voice shouted from farther inside. "It was Johnny!"

"It was not! I didn't do nothin'!"

"Hey, hey, none of this," Brock said. He picked the girl up, balancing her on his hip. "I'll get your skirt as good as new in a minute, okay?" The girl sniffed. "You're not hurt, are you? No bruises to kiss all better?" The girl sobbed softly, then shook her head. "Okay. See? It's no harm done, then." He put her down. "This is Remmy, and Ivonar," he said, motioning to the other two. "They're staying here for the night. Show them where they'll be staying, okay?"

The girl nodded, wiping her nose on the back of her hand. "Okay." She held out her wet hand to Remmy and Ivonar.

The trainers traded another look. Ivonar smiled weakly. "Lead the way."

The girl pouted a little, then turned and started walking further inside.

Further into the house held no less chaos than the first room. A group of little boys swordfought with a broom, a baseball bat, and a couple of tree branches. A group of girls squabbled over a plastic tea set. Two kids played a quiet game of cards whose rules weren't immediately apparent - something about putting one card down at a time, then, for no apparent reason, putting down two, which made the other player laugh and take the pile of cards and shuffle them into the cards he held facedown in his hand.

"This is my room," the girl leading them said, stopping at the room with the tea set war. "You can stay with me, Ee-var."

Ivonar cringed, then tried to hide it behind a smile. "You can just call me Eevee," she told her.

The girl looked at her oddly. "Why?"

They'd left the free Pokémon outside. With all these little kids, Ivonar was wondering if it was safe to bring them inside. She was also starting to wonder if it was safe for her and Remmy to stay inside. "'Cause I like being called that," Ivonar replied.

"Hey!" a boy shouted. "There's a Pikachu outside throwing an Eevee around! We gotta stop it!" There was a mad rush for the door.

"No, wait!" Ivonar shouted, running after them. Remmy was right at her heels. "Leave them alone! Don't-"

"Pi-ka-_chu_!"

There was a brilliant flash of yellow light, and Remmy and Ivonar were forced to jump on a chair to avoid the sudden rush of bawling children _back_ into the house. "Brock!" they screamed. "Brock! Brock! The mean Pikachu out there _zapped_ us!"

"They must have gotten too close to Cole," Remmy murmured. Ivonar nodded. Though Chia tried to help Manx keep some control over all the Eevees, it was quite obvious that the black tail-tipped Eevee was her indisputable favorite.

Both of them yelled as the chair they were perched on tipped over. They quickly put it back upright, then ran outside.

Manx was standing in a crouch, his ears laid back, Sweetie, Fluffball, and Static safely under his body. Chia stood a little away from them, Cole held firmly in her paws, her own long ears drawn back and held flat to her skull. "Chu," she muttered darkly.

Manx stood up a little straighter, turning his ears so that they faced outward instead of backwards. He glared accusingly at Ivonar.

"What, it's _my_ fault he has fifty million brothers and sisters?" she retorted to his cruel gaze. He snorted. Ivonar picked up a quaking Sweetie and put her on her shoulder. "Come on, you guys. Better go inside." She looked at Manx. "Either you should be glad you don't have a tail to be pulled, or you should go into your pokéball to protect your ears, too."

Manx snorted again, flattening his ears a little, and pouted. He picked up Static in his mouth.

Chia shifted Cole to one paw, and used the other three to scamper up Remmy's pants and shirt to perch with the Eevee on the human's shoulder. Her ears remained back, a dark look on her face.

Remmy, Ivonar, and Manx went inside, where they were greeted with a glaring Brock surrounded by his brothers and sisters. "The Pokémon can stay," Brock snapped, "but only if they don't hurt anyone."

One of the little girls whimpered and buried her face in his pantleg. "That mean Pikachu zapped me!" she wailed.

"Chi?" Chia's ears came forward again. Then she scowled. "Pika chi, chi pika pika chu ki cha!"

"The only reason Chia 'zapped' anybody was that she was afraid you might hurt Cole, that's all," Ivonar told them gently. She reached over to pet the Eevee Chia was hugging tightly. "Imagine if _you_ were run at by ten really big people. Wouldn't you be a _little_ scared?"

The younger children looked thoughtful as they understood. The older ones frowned a little, not really willing to admit that they'd be scared.

They all just stood there for awhile, not really doing anything.

Manx snorted, putting Static down. He yawned, then strode forward. A few of the children moved away, frightened by the large cat, while others looked at him curiously. He leaned heavily against Brock's leg as he meandered passed, with Fluffball at his heels, then wandered into the kitchen.

Ivonar laughed. "I think Manx is telling us it's dinnertime."

"Let's eat, then!" Brock said with forced cheerfulness. "Tommy, Johnny, Suzie, set the table. Patty, could you help me bring the food to the table? The rest of you sit quietly. No fighting, okay? Mark, get two more chairs for Remmy and Ivonar." Half the children ran one way, half the other. After a moment's pause, Ivonar and Remmy followed the second half away from the kitchen, to a small room filled with a long table. Five chairs were lined up on each side, with one chair at the head of the table. One of the other children returned, lugging two more chairs. Remmy helped him set them up opposite of the head of the table, and he and Ivonar scrunched together. The Eevees scampered under the table, except Sweetie, who refused to leave Ivonar's shoulders. Chia kept a sharp eye on the children from where she perched on the back of Remmy's chair. Manx slipped under the table as three children approached, one with a stack of plates, another with fistfuls of silverware and chopsticks, and the third with a large tray of cups. By the time they had set the table and taken their places, Brock and the tenth child came in with heavy trays of food. "Dinner!" Brock called brightly, placing his tray a little left of the middle of the table. The girl beside him placed hers next to it, then slid into the last free chair on the side of the table. Brock took the chair at the head of the table. Everyone bowed their heads for a long moment, their hands clasped together, then looked up and started passing around the dishes. Everything was passed to Ivonar and Remmy first, then passed down the sides of the table to Brock, then sent back. Plates piled high, cups full, everyone dug in. A noticeable amount of vegetables went under the table to the Eevees, and some meat went to Manx, too, much to his pleasure. Brock constantly rebuked those giving tablescraps, and Ivonar joined in, but Remmy just smiled and joined in on the "illegal" activity. The meal was loud, chaotic, and enjoyed by everyone. No one left hungry, and, in spite of several squabbles, no one left angry, either.

"That was _wonderful_!" Ivonar groaned, leaning back in her chair. In the middle of the meal, Sweetie had joined her brothers and sister under the table, when she realized she was missing out on treats. Chia remained on Remmy's chair, but happily nibbled at an apple she'd been given. She still gave any of the children who came close wary glances, but the brave ones that reached up to give her a pet didn't get any resistance, or "zapped" again.

After dinner was just as fun, now that all errors had been corrected and misunderstandings settled. Fluffball, Cole, and Chia led several children on a merry chase throughout the house, while Manx lowered himself so far as to give a couple of the younger, lighter children rides on his back, before Ivonar could scold him for being a bad guest. Static pranced and pounced himself exhausted by chasing strings, baseballs, wads of paper - anything the children wiggled or rolled for him to chase. Sweetie purred herself silly as she went from lap to lap, tickled and pet in every conceivable way, until one of the girls brought out a stiff-wire brush. Her purr rumbled throughout the building at the gentle, firm brushing, which brought her brothers and sister (and Chia) running to see what they were missing. A small fight broke out over who got to brush who - considering there were only four Eevees and ten children - but by bringing out Rahta and Ratzy, with one child brushing Chia and two brushing Manx (considering he was easily twice as big as any of the others), everyone got in on the fun.

In the end, Ivonar passed out happily in a chair in the living room. There was a small commotion when Nuisance broke out of his pokéball, which scared the children, who in turn scared _him_ witless, but Brock was quick to quiet them all. Nuisance flopped facedown on Ivonar's feet, falling quickly to sleep. Manx curled up on another chair. Sweetie slipped out of the arms of the girl who had been cuddling her and curled up on Ivonar's stomach. Fluffball and Static lay on top of Manx, who grumbled a little, but didn't chase them off of him. Remmy dozed off in a third chair when he only meant to lay across it for a moment, his head on one arm rest, his legs hanging over the other. Chia and Cole curled up together on his stomach.

After their guests had settled for the night, Brock hurried the other children off to bed. He brought out two blankets, one for Ivonar, one for Remmy, but at Manx's soft growl and pointed look, he went back for a third. With a weary smile, he was happy to fall into his own bed at last.

*

Ivonar woke up with a crick in her neck, bewildered for a moment as she tried to figure out where she was. She could hear Nuisance's soft snoring, but she couldn't see her feet, or him, either, for that matter. Sweetie purred softly in her sleep from where she was curled up under Ivonar's chin. Manx, Static, and Fluffball formed an odd pile of curled up bodies in a chair nearby. Remmy lay sprawled sideways in an armchair, his head on one armrest, his legs hanging over the other, a blanket thrown over him. Chia's head peeked out beside his, and a pair of long brown ears showed that Cole was in there, too. A blanket covered Ivonar, too. Manx lay on a third, while Static and Fluffball lay on him.

Someone tugged on some strands of her hair. She winced. "Are you awake yet?" someone whispered loudly.

"Almost," she replied dryly. "Why?"

"Brock said he'd wait for you at the gym. He left some breakfast out for you. He said we weren't supposed to touch it, 'cause you're guests."

Ivonar gasped. Now she remembered! After spending the night in the hospitality of a nice guy, she had to get up, eat the breakfast he'd left for her, then go and try to knock out his Pokémon. There was something ironic in that… She smiled grimly to herself as she took Sweetie out from under her chin, gently kicked Nuisance off her feet, and pulled the blanket off of her. Maybe Remmy had a point…

*

Soon, they were back, right from where they started, but there was a new order to where they stood, now, and a new feeling in the air.

It was Ivonar who stood on the field, not Remmy, her hand at the pouches in her pokéball belt. She frowned a little. Soon after Remmy's fight had begun, she'd managed to get her Poliwag back, but the Pokédex insisted it was a Poliwhirl. Stupid contraption. And Professor Oak wondered why she hadn't wanted it…

Manx sat silently, a little behind Ivonar. He'd made it clear on the way back to the gym that there was no way he was going to battle the Geodude _or_ the Onix. He also made it just as clear that he wasn't going to go back into his pokéball. No matter how much she yelled, pleaded, whined, or threatened, he was going to observe. That was it.

Remmy stood on the sidelines with the Eevees now. Sweetie had been hesitant to sit on _his_ shoulder, but eventually she accepted her place out of the way. Chia sat with Cole and Static on the floor. Fluffball squirmed in Remmy's arms: she wanted to be with Manx, on the field.

Brock was all business once more. "Two Pokémon each. You can withdraw them and send them out and all that, as much as you want, but you can only use two. Understood?"

Ivonar nodded sharply. "Understood."

"Geodude, go!"

"Tagalong, go!"

Remmy chuckled. "Tagalong?" he murmured to himself. "Wonder where _that_ came from."

Ivonar gasped. "What the-" The Poliwag came into being, but it wasn't a Poliwag at all. A Poliwhirl stood on the rocks, and looked around a little, a bit confused. "What happened?" Ivonar demanded. "I don't have a Poliwhirl!"

"Geodude, tackle attack!"

Ivonar snapped back to what was important. It didn't matter right now that the Pokémon was wrong - she had to use the Pokémon that was out. "Tag, Water Gun!" she shouted.

The Geodude rushed the Poliwhirl, fists clenched tight. It dodged as the Poliwhirl tried blasting it, but twisted in midair, avoiding the attack while still being able to deliver its own. The Poliwhirl squealed as it was tackled. It rolled backwards a few times, landing on its hands and knees. It lifted its face, eyes blazing, and blasted away at the Geodude.

The Geodude dodged and dipped, but the Poliwhirl was angry. Instead of keeping its attack focused and strong, it widened the stream of water, spraying more water less forcefully. When it finally hit the Geodude, it focused its attack again, blasting it until it flew backwards, into the ground.

"Tag, tackle attack!" Ivonar yelled.

"Geodude, harden!" Brock snapped.

The Poliwhirl leaped at the Geodude, but with a dull flash of white light, the Geodude grew denser, and the Poliwhirl's attack did little besides bring it close enough to be attacked.

"Tag, Water Gun!"

"Geodude, Tackle Attack!"

"Tag, return!" Ivonar held out the pokéball. A beam of red light streamed out, but the Poliwhirl avoided it, slamming the Geodude point-blank with a Water Gun in its side. The Geodude cartwheeled through the air, surprised by the attack, having expected its enemy to retreat. The angered Poliwhirl kept drowning it in a steady blast of water with three times the power of a fire hose, steadily weakening the Geodude until finally it cowered on the ground, its arms thrown protectively over its face.

"Geodude, return!" The Geodude disappeared in a flash of red light. "Your Pokémon proved itself, but you haven't!" Brock shouted across the gym. "Your Pokémon have to listen to you!"

"I should have a Poliwag, not a Poliwhirl!" Ivonar shouted back. "I don't know whose that is!" She pointed at the Poliwhirl.

Brock's eyes narrowed, but he didn't pursue the subject. "Go Onix!" he shouted, throwing out his second pokéball. The huge rock snake reappeared, over one of the holes still left from its battle the day before. It roared in challenge at the Poliwhirl. "Onix, tackle!"

"Tag, Bubble!"

The Poliwhirl opened its mouth to attack, but the Onix had regained its speed, fully recovered from its fight with Drake. It crashed into the ground, nearly flattening the Poliwhirl. There was no way the water Pokémon was getting up after a move like that.

"Tag, return!" This time, the Poliwhirl had no choice in obeying.

Brock and the Onix waited patiently for her to choose her next Pokémon.

Ivonar frowned, putting the pokéball back into the fourth pouch in her belt. She stuck her finger in the first pouch, considering. Char? Her frown deepened: fire Pokémon had no advantage over rock Pokémon, and she wasn't really certain how well Char would listen to her yet. Her finger slid to the fifth pouch. Ro? She decided against it. Ro was even _less_ likely to listen to her, and flying Pokémon had a _dis_advantage against rock Pokémon. She considered Rahta for a moment, but he was still off-balance, and normal Pokémon had a disadvantage, too. That left only one Pokémon…

She shoved her fingers into the second pouch, pulling out the pokéball. "Nuisance, go!" she ordered.

The Psyduck came out, rubbing his eyes. He looked around, confused, then noticed a bunch of boulders stacked on each other. He followed them up with his eyes, up, up, up… his beak fell open as his long eyes met the huge eyes of the Onix. "Psy?" he squeaked weakly.

Brock barked out a laugh. "Onix! Bind!"

The huge Pokémon roared, crashing down around the Psyduck, wrapping it tight in its coils. The Psyduck disappeared among its huge segments.

"Nuisance!" Ivonar screamed. How _stupid_ could she be! She _should_ have used Char or Ro, not Nuisance! How could she send out a Pokémon whose only attack was _Tail Whip_ against such a monster?

The Onix shifted its coils, and the Psyduck's head appeared, high up. His face was a mask of pain, his eyes squeezed shut. He wiggled helplessly. He managed to get his forelegs free, but there wasn't much he could do with them against the gigantic Onix. It was simply a matter of time before he passed out from the pressure the Onix was squeezing him with.

The Psyduck squealed in pain, then started hitting himself in the head.

"What is he _doing_?" Remmy whispered to Chia, watching worriedly.

"Chee," Chia replied, hugging Cole. She didn't know, either. What good did the poor Psyduck think he was doing attacking _himself_?

"He… must be confused, or something," Remmy suggested.

Nuisance continued hitting himself.

"I forfeit!" Ivonar screamed. "Nuisance, stop that!"

"Onix, enough!" Brock barked. The Onix looked at him. Then its eyes went wide, and its coils started to loosen. It roared in surprise.

Nuisance stopped hitting himself, and opened his eyes. They glowed a brilliant, eerie blue. He slipped out of sight, disappearing into the Onix's loosening coils.

The Onix started to slowly float into the air.

"What-!" Brock exclaimed as he watched, amazed, as his Onix continued to float, higher and higher. Nuisance soon appeared below the floating Onix, staring at it with intent, blue-lit eyes.

When the Onix was floating almost to the ceiling, Nuisance swung his head sharply right.

The Onix flew through the air, slamming into the right wall. Remmy, Chia, and the Eevees ran for cover as huge pieces of stone fell around them, some from the wall, some from the Onix.

Nuisance, his unfeeling eyes still unblinking, swung his head left.

The Onix flew across the gym, slamming into the left wall even harder. More stone fell.

"Stop it!" Brock yelled. "He's going to bring the whole gym down!"

"Nuisance!" Ivonar screamed at the same time. "Stop it! Now!"

The Psyduck paused, still staring at the Onix, lodged in the wall. Slowly, he turned his face forward, looking up. The Onix pulled out of the wall, floating up until the horn on its head brushed the very peak of the ceiling.

Nuisance blinked.

The roar of displaced air was louder than the roar of pain the Onix uttered as it crashed five feet straight into the ground at the Psyduck's feet, connecting the two holes that already existed in the gym floor.

There was a long moment of silence, broken only by the sound of crumbling stone, and the _clack_ of several stones breaking loose from the ceiling and edge of the gigantic, Onix-shaped hole to fall to the floor or on the Onix.

Nuisance swayed, blinking away the blue light in his eyes. He swayed even harder, then fell backwards, out cold.

Both Brock and Ivonar ran forward. Brock peered in shock down the huge hole his Onix was buried in. Ivonar brushed some of the dirt off Nuisance's forehead. He was bruised all over, but otherwise didn't look at all hurt. "What _was_ that?" she asked no one.

"You _don't know_?" Brock demanded. He returned his Onix to its pokéball, and stared, dumbfounded, at the giant hole in his gym. "How can that thing be so _powerful_?"

"I- I don't know," Ivonar replied, holding Nuisance close. "The only move I ever taught him was Tail Whip! The moment I sent him out I realized how stupid I'd been. I-"

Brock scowled. "I suggest you don't use that Pokémon in battle again until you know what he's capable of," he told her sternly. "I suggest you don't battle at _all_ until you learn to control your Pokémon. You can't just pick fights and wing it." He glanced at Remmy. "Some people are lucky enough to be born with a natural talent. But those people are rare. Us normal people have to _work_ to get the needed experience to win battles." He reached into his pocket, and tossed a little gray piece of metal over the hole. "You win the Boulder Badge, but totally on luck. This wasn't your victory. I wouldn't battle for another badge if I were you, until I figured out what I was doing." The badge let off a soft jingle as it bounced off a rock, rolled a little, then stopped against Nuisance's foot. With shaking, ashamed fingers, Ivonar picked it up. She looked at it, tears stinging her eyes.

"I promise," she whispered shakily.

*

Ivonar was silent, her head hanging in shame, as she wheeled her bike toward the Pokécenter. Remmy looked at her worriedly. "What do you think that attack was-"

"I don't know," Ivonar snapped icily.

"Let me finish," Remmy told her calmly. "What do you think that attack was, when Nuisance started hitting himself?"

Ivonar shook her head. "He must have been confused or something," she muttered.

"That's what I thought, but now I'm not sure," Remmy disagreed. "He brought on his own psychic powers. I listened to all the info in my Pokédex about Psyducks, after you told me about the first time Nuisance used that _other_ attack, on the Beedrill. It says that they can only use their psychic attacks if their natural headaches get powerful enough. He was hitting himself in the head, Ivonar. He brought on his own headache, his own powers. With any other Pokémon I'd say that it might have been luck if they started attacking themself and ended up winning, but with Nuisance I'm not so sure."

"A Pokémon winning by attacking themself, eh?" a scratchy voice echoed. Both trainers jumped, then looked in surprise at the cloaked figure sitting on a doorstep. "Not a Psyduck, then, no?"

"Yeah, Nuisance is a Psyduck," Ivonar told them. It was impossible to tell if the cloaked figure was a man or a woman.

The figure cackled. "Eh! Haven't heard of _that_ attack in a _long_ time, no…"

"Attack?" Ivonar echoed. "What attack?"

"Why, Self Inflict, of course." The figure cackled again. "'Twas an attack my great-grandfather taught _his_ Psyduck, long ago. It is a very obscure attack that isn't used anymore. Who taught your Psyduck this attack?"

Ivonar frowned. "Nobody. My brother found him, and gave him to me. He didn't teach Nuisance anything, and all I've taught him is Tail Whip."

"Oh, really?" the figure leered. "And how old was this Psyduck when your brother 'found' him?"

"When I brought him for his first checkup, the nurse at the Pokécenter said he was about eight months old."

"Psyducks can begin to train when they are three months old. Somebody could have taught him Self Inflict before your brother 'found' him." Ivonar didn't like how the figure kept sneering when they said "found". "Yet I get the feeling that is not the only problem."

Ivonar scowled. "It's not," she admitted curtly. "Nuisance also has this attack, where his eyes glow bright blue-"

"All Psyducks eyes glow bright blue when they use psychic powers," the figure informed her rudely.

Ivonar's scowl deepened. "He stares at his opponent, then turns his head. Where he turns his head, the other Pokémon floats - it just floats! If he looks up, it floats up, if he jerks his head right, it zips right. He lifted a Beedrill like that a few days ago, and today he sent an _entire Onix_ crashing it into walls, nearly knocking down the Pokémon gym! When he's finished, he blinks, and the Pokémon he's fighting slams into the ground."

"Do the Pokémon seem paralyzed when he does this?" the figure demanded. Ivonar considered: both times, a look of terror crossed the Pokémon's faces, but they hadn't moved. She nodded. So did the figure. "Another move I have not heard of, in a great long time…."

"What move is that?" Remmy asked.

"The funny thing about fighting Pokémon and psychic Pokémon," the figure said, ignoring him, "is that, though they fight completely differently, they each have comparable moves. A fighting Pokémon can immobilize an opponent with various forms of holds, while psychic Pokémon can use Paralysis. Fighting Pokémon can use fast attacks to confuse opponents: psychic Pokémon can use Confusion." The figure paused for effect. "Strong fighting Pokémon have a powerful attack called Seismic Toss. They literally throw their opponent as hard as they can into the ground. Now, with most psychic Pokémon, their physical strength isn't enough to throw much of anything, much less an enemy."

"But you said that they have comparable moves," Remmy insisted. "Is there a psychic move like Seismic Toss?"

The figure nodded. "Psychic Pokémon have to use their _minds_ to toss their opponents around, instead of their arms or paws. Extremely powerful fighting Pokémon have Seismic Toss: extremely powerful psychic Pokémon have _Psychic _Toss. Instead of actually grabbing their opponent, they use telekinesis to pick them up and throw them around. But it takes a great deal of energy to do it."

"Nuisance tossed the Onix into two walls, then the ground," Ivonar told the figure, "then he fainted out cold." She patted her belt. The Boulder Badge was pinned outside Nuisance's pouch. "I'm taking him to the Pokécenter to get him healed."

The figure nodded. "Good, good." Then, their shadowed mouth scowled. "You'd best be careful with that Psyduck, kid. You're brand new at this. Your Pokémon knows more about battle than you do. It takes a strong trainer to train strong Pokémon."

Ivonar nodded. "I know," she whispered, the pain of Brock's harsh warning renewing itself.

"Granny, are you scaring little kids again?" The kind-voiced, green-haired girl smiled at them. "Don't mind her. Come on, Granny. I have our supplies. We can go home now."

"Oh, buzz off, Cassandra," the figure muttered. They - _she_ - glared at Ivonar again. "Remember! Take care with that Psyduck!"

"I will!" Ivonar called after the retreating figure. She bit her lip a little. "Come on, Remmy," she murmured.

They were quiet as they settled what they wanted with the Nurse Joy of Pewter City. Then Ivonar went to one of the public phones. For a moment, she considered calling home, but decided she had a more urgent call to make. She picked up the phone and dialed. She set a scowl on her face when the call went through. "Professor, what happened to my Poliwag?" she demanded.

Professor looked at her in surprise. "Ivy? Ah! Good to hear from you!"

Ivonar winced a little at the hated nickname, then demanded again, "What happened to my Poliwag?"

"Whatever do you mean?"

"I tried to switch my Pidgey for it yesterday, and it wouldn't work!"

"Oh, well, that's understandable. I had it out at the time. Sorry about that. I was curious about what you'd caught."

"Then, today, I went to use it in battle, but it wasn't there!"

"It wasn't? But you _did_ switch your Pidgey for it… I have it here." He held up a pokéball where she could see it on the screen.

"It wasn't my Poliwag!" she snapped. "It was a Poliwhirl!"

"Of course it was!" Professor Oak replied cheerfully.

"_What_?"

"While your Poliwag was out yesterday, it had an unfortunate run-in with a Butterfree Gary sent me a little before I received your Poliwag. It evolved into Poliwhirl. Taught that Butterfree a lesson, too. It'll be drying its wings out for a week!"

"But now it won't listen to me!" Ivonar cried. "I tried to call it back, but it wouldn't until it got knocked out!"

"Well, that's unfortunate." Professor Oak cringed at the unspoken anger in Ivonar's scowl. "I'm sure if you work with it, it'll learn to listen."

"This is getting redundant, Professor," Ivonar whined. "I catch a Pokémon, it evolves, and I don't know if it'll listen to me! My Spearow evolved into Fearow, and now a Poliwag I didn't even _want_ evolved into a Poliwhirl! Next thing I know, that Magikarp Remmy gave me will evolve into Gyrados and _eat_ me!"

"Actually, of the three Magikarp the two of you sent me, one of Remmy's is much closer to evolving than yours," Professor Oak assured her. "That Pikachu you sent me, though… what a grouch! However did you catch such a mean creature?"

"The Pokécenter in Viridian gave it to me," Ivonar replied. "Since I didn't think I was going to use it in battle, I told the Pikachus that they probably wouldn't see battle, and that one was the only one that agreed to be taken if it didn't see battle."

"I've never known a crueler-tempered Pikachu," Professor Oak muttered, frowning. Then he smiled. "I'm sure you can handle it, Ivy."

"There's another thing," Ivonar continued. "It's Nuisance, my pet Psyduck. The only attack I've taught him is Tail Whip, but according to this old woman I met, he has two other attacks."

"Oh?"

Ivonar nodded. "One she called Self Inflict."

Professor Oak frowned. "That isn't a very good attack," he told her. "It's one that used to be taught to Psyducks often, but most were unable to withstand being attacked and attacking themselves, and fainted before it worked. It is an extremely dangerous attack. How does Nuisance know it?"

"I don't know. But that's not the worst of it. Twice, he's used this really strange psychic attack. The old woman said it was called Psychic Toss."

"_Psychic Toss_?!" Professor Oak gasped. He dropped the receiver. Ivonar yelped at the painfully loud _thunk_ that rang through her own receiver. Professor Oak disappeared from view for a moment, retrieving the receiver from the floor. "D-did you say _Psychic Toss_?"

"That's what the old lady said," Ivonar replied.

Professor Oak reappeared, looking shocked. "Psychic Toss," he muttered. "Psychic Toss! And it hasn't evolved into Golduck yet?"

"What?" Ivonar asked, surprised.

"How old is that Psyduck?"

"About two years."

"Two years!" The hand not holding the receiver to his ear pressed against Professor Oak's forehead. "_Two years_! And the only attack you ever taught him was _Tail Whip_?"

"I just taught him that recently!" Ivonar cried. "Nuisance was just a pet!"

"Psychic Toss… two years!" Professor Oak looked around him, as if trying to find an answer somewhere around him. "Not evolved…?" Ivonar waited, worried, while he muttered to himself for awhile longer. Then he finally looked at the screen again. "You have _no idea_ how he could be so powerful?" Biting her lip, Ivonar shook her head. "Two _years_… this is _unheard_ of!"

"How could he be so powerful, Professor?" Ivonar asked.

"I have no idea," the man admitted solemnly. "I have absolutely no idea, Ivonar." He frowned. "Is there _anything_ special that you've done, at _all_, to Nuisance?"

Ivonar grimaced. "He… he sleeps on my feet every night. He breaks out of his pokéball to do it."

Professor Oak shook his head. "No, no… that wouldn't explain it. Hardly."

Ivonar frowned. "I don't know, Professor. That's the only way I treat him differently than any of the other Pokémon."

The professor frowned as well. "Nuisance hasn't shown any… rebellion? Any unwillingness to obey? Stubbornness?"

Ivonar considered it. "When… when he used Psychic Toss on the Onix, I told him to stop. He paused for a moment, then dropped the Onix. Hard. He completed the attack, _then_ stopped…" She bit her lip for a moment. "Does that count?"

"I don't know." The professor's frown deepened. "That is the _only_ instance where he seemed even _slightly_ rebellious?"

Ivonar nodded. "Nuisance has always been a good Pokémon. Sometimes he's a little out of it, a little dopey, but isn't that normal for Psyducks?"

Professor Oak nodded. "I don't understand," he murmured, a distracted look on his face. "Normally, when Pokémon are stronger in energy than their trainers are in experience, they rebel, refuse to listen. Why doesn't this Psyduck rebel?"

Ivonar frowned a little, hurt. "Maybe he likes me too much," she suggested, then felt stupid.

Professor Oak frowned even more. "Maybe," he muttered under his breath, not really paying attention. He hung up the phone without saying goodbye.

Ivonar, more upset than ever, hung up the phone. She didn't want her mother to see her upset: that would be the fastest way to end her training. She wandered over to the counter. She crossed her arms, resting them on the counter, then rested her chin on her arms.

Manx looked up from where he lay at Remmy's feet. Remmy had dozed off on one of the Pokécenter's couches. Manx got up, stretched, then plucked Sweetie off the couch and walked with her to the counter. He reared up on his hind legs, put the Eevee on the counter, dropped back to all fours, then bumped his head into Ivonar's leg. She looked down at him as Sweetie climbed onto her shoulders. "Thanks, Manx." She gave his head a rub. Nurse Joy appeared with her two pokéballs. "I don't get it. Remmy has a natural talent for training, and I have a Fearow I don't think will listen to me, a Poliwhirl that _won't_ listen to me, and a Psyduck that _shouldn't_ listen to me." Manx looked at her pointedly. She smiled wryly, tickling one of his ears. "And you, who never listened to me in the first place."

"Maybe you should take your Pokémon to Old Farley," Nurse Joy suggested, placing the two pokéballs on the counter in front of Ivonar.

"Who?"

"An old man who lives on Route Three. He's a Pokémon expert. He used to work here, but he retired soon after I began to work here. He likes to help new trainers who aren't having much luck."

"I don't need luck," Ivonar informed her ruefully. "I just need my friend to share some of his." She chucked her thumb over her shoulder at Remmy, still dozing on the couch.

Nurse Joy smiled. "Go talk to Old Farley. Tell him Joyful sent you."

"Joy_ful_?"

She laughed. "He has a nickname for all of us Joys. He calls my sisters Joyless and OverJoyed." Ivonar smiled a little. "Go see him," the nurse urged her. "I'm sure he'll help you. He understands what Pokémon say, as if he was one of them. If all else fails, I'm sure he'll talk to them and see what _they_ say."

"Okay," Ivonar agreed. She took back her pokéballs. Then she pulled her Pokédex out of her back pocket, where she'd decided it was better to keep it, rather than in her backpack. She frowned a little. "Hmm… well, I haven't any trouble with Rahta," she murmured to herself. She tapped the transfer key, then scrolled through the list of Pokémon she'd sent to Professor Oak. Choosing the Kakuna, she hit the transfer key again. A dull glow emerged from the sixth pouch in her belt, at the same time as a pokéball appeared at her feet with a dull flash of white light. She picked it up, tucking it in the sixth pouch, then put Nuisance's ball back in its pouch, and Tagalong's into the fourth pouch. "Okay. I'll go see 'Old Farley'."

"Good luck." With a smile, Nurse Joy disappeared into the back of the Pokécenter.

Ivonar wandered over to Remmy. She shook his shoulder. With a disoriented-sounding groan, he opened his eyes, looking at her blearily. "Come on, lucky," Ivonar told him. "I've got to go see Old Farley."

"Old who?" Remmy stood up and stretched, yawning.

Ivonar rubbed Sweetie's head with one hand, Manx's with the other. "Somebody to help me with Pokémon that won't listen to me," Ivonar replied.

Remmy bent down to pick up Fluffball and Static as they raced passed. Chia loped over, Cole riding her piggyback. "So what am I supposed to do?"

Ivonar shrugged. "I don't think _you_ need help," she grumbled.

Remmy glanced at her, but decided not to say anything. He let Chia climb to his shoulder, then handed Static to Ivonar. They left the Pokécenter, going to their bikes.

"Next stop," Ivonar announced, "Route Three."


	5. Default Chapter Title

**__**

A Pallet Pair #5a:

Remmy's Rocket Problem

"Guess this is it."

"Guess so."

Ivonar Marain kicked down her kickstand, sighing as she put her weight on her aching right leg. They had been biking for two straight hours on a slight incline. Though it wasn't exactly a hill, most of Route Three sloped gently upward, which meant non-stop pedaling. Ivonar felt like her legs were going to fall off. "Decided what you're going to do yet?"

Beside them was a small log cabin, maybe three rooms at most, quaint but homey. There was a small fence around it, and gardens growing on either side of the path to the door - flowers on one side, vegetables on the other. Ivonar was going in, without question: she was just wondering if Remmy was going to, too.

Remmy shrugged. "Probably just wander," he replied. "Maybe try teaching some of my Pokémon new techniques. I don't know. If I get too bored, I'll knock."

Ivonar gave him a tolerant half-smile, as she always did for his cynical jokes when she couldn't come up with a reply. "Take your time," she told him wryly.

Remmy got off his bike, wincing as he stood on his still sore feet. "You too," he replied. "Come on, Chia." The Pikachu leaped out of the wire basket on his handlebars, the black tail-tipped Eevee hugged tightly in her arms.

Sweetie jumped to Ivonar's shoulder as Ivonar put Fluffball and Static on the ground. "You can look after the troops, right?" Ivonar asked Remmy. "I'll need Manx with me, but the Eevees don't have to be cooped up."

"I think I can watch Cole," Remmy said, "but I don't think Fluffball wants to leave Manx, or Sweetie you."

"What about you, little guy?" Ivonar smiled as she crouched down, tickling Static under the chin. "What do _you_ want to do, huh?"

Static purred, then jumped to her other shoulder. Ivonar laughed. "Okay, I guess you just have to watch Cole, then." She started to stand up, but Static had much less practice sitting on shoulders than Sweetie did; with a squeal he tumbled forward into Ivonar's arms. She rubbed his head soothingly as she went through the fence toward the door of the cabin. Manx gave Remmy and Chia a pointed look for no apparent reason, then trotted after her, with Fluffball at his heels.

Remmy sighed, looking around. "Now what?" he asked the two Pokémon.

"Chee," Chia replied, shrugging a little. She let Cole go. He trotted a little ways away, sniffing the air, then yawned and sat down, looking bored.

Remmy crouched down, closer to their eye level, wincing as his aching knees argued against the move. "Any ideas?" he asked them jokingly. Chia smiled at him, jumping onto his shoulder. Cole turned around, saw that he might get left behind, and ran back. Remmy tried to pick him up, but Cole danced away. Shrugging, Remmy stood up and began walking, leaving his stuff behind, taking only the two Pokémon, the clothes he had on, and his pokéballs, which were in his pockets. Then he frowned, squinting in the bright sunlight, turned back, and, fishing through his gear, pulled out a baseball cap. It had been his dad's, when he was a kid. It was red, with a white front and the odd-looking blue "L" logo of the Lavender Town Little League baseball team, the Lavender Town Lapras. The hat was at least thirty years old, but still in pretty good condition. Sticking it on his head, he started down the road, in the opposite direction from where they had come.

He had no real destination in mind; he just felt like wandering for awhile. Further down the road there was a small patch of trees - not really a forest, but too natural to be considered an orchard - which looked interesting. Anyway, exploring it would give him something to do while Ivonar figured out what to do with her too-powerful Pokémon.

Remmy grinned to himself as he rubbed Chia's head. It was funny, how the one of them who _wanted_ to be a trainer was the one who had trouble doing it. He chuckled. "Maybe she's trying too hard," he suggested to the Pikachu. Chia giggled. Cole trotted along at Remmy's side, his tail waving through the air, happy to be away from his brother and sisters for awhile, feeling quite grown-up with just the other human and Chia.

The trio wandered along the slightly sloped path, quiet with their own pleasant thoughts, when Remmy chuckled again. "You know, it's probably easier to walk this than ride it," he laughed. Chia giggled again. Cole trilled out a purr as he loped along to keep up with Remmy's long stride. "Legs were meant to go uphill better than bikes."

He grinned to himself. Truth be told, training wasn't as bad as he'd thought it'd be. Ivonar was right: the Pokémon _did_ like to battle. That was as obvious as the good moods Saurus and Drake had been in since winning that badge. He craned his neck to look at it again; for lack of anything better to do with it, he'd left it clipped to the collar of his jacket. Personally, he didn't feel any pride for it: he honestly didn't think he'd done much of anything. The badge he wore was for Saurus and Drake.

"Guess I'm just lucky with Pokémon," he laughed, rubbing Chia's head affectionately. He stepped over a fallen branch as he passed the first of the trees. He had to give Cole a boost over it before continuing on the much narrower path. "Saurus respects me more than Char does Eevee… Drake and I…" He just grinned. The beautiful Dratini had been scared of him at first, but the moment it smiled, he knew… just knew… Drake, as he'd named it, wasn't going anywhere. He joked about giving it to Ivonar, but he hadn't meant a word of it. He was glad she hadn't even let him finish the question. "You're great, Chia." The Pikachu grinned as he ruffled the fur between her ears. "Now, _Nasty_…" He laughed. "Pi's a little shy, but, I don't blame him. And Ratzy is cool. Ivonar actually did pretty good with him. And she's great with the Eevees. I guess she's just unlucky 'cause she keeps getting Pokémon that're too strong, that's all."

"Pipi chi," Chia said, shrugging a little.

"Hope that Old Farley guy can help her," Remmy murmured. Chia frowned a little. "I mean, Eevee's really into this. I feel kinda bad, you know? I know Ash and Gary and me kind of made fun of her, 'cause she was older than us and all, but it's not her fault. I remember getting sick a couple years ago, too, when the flu went around. And it's not like she could train with a broken leg, right?" Chia nodded in agreement. "She had to wait two years to do what she really wants to, and still it's not going right. While me, I get kicked out of the house to do the same thing, that I didn't _want_ to do…" He sighed. "It just…" He tried to think of the word that would best describe it, but only one came to mind - a word he didn't really like using. "It just sucks." He shoved a branch out of his way, then another, and found himself in a sort of clearing - too big to be a clearing, really, but far too small to be a meadow or field or anything like that. A deep ash pit showed that it was a popular campsite; some short logs formed a vague circle around it. A small pond took up most of the clearing: from the looks of it, the clearing had once been a whole lake, but the water level had dropped, allowing grass and small bushes to grow, leaving only the much smaller pond. Remmy reached into one of his pockets, pulling out a pokéball. "Come on out, Drake," he said. "Have a swim."

The ball cracked open, allowing the five and a half foot long Dratini to escape. It trilled happily at the sight of the pond, leaping in with barely a splash. Remmy grinned. "Static should've come along," he said, sitting on one of the logs. "He likes water."

Chia shrugged a little, jumping off his shoulder to sit on the log beside him. Cole boosted himself, with some difficulty, onto the log beside her. "Pika pi, pika pikachu," Chia said, looking at Remmy.

Remmy looked down at her and grinned. "You know I have no idea what you just said, right?"

Chia just grinned back.

*

"Is that-" Before the sentence was out of his mouth, he got clobbered. He wasn't even sure who did it this time, or with what, for that matter. He rubbed his sore head. "Isn't that that brat?" he asked his two companions in a quieter voice.

"Sure looks like 'im," the shorter of his teammates agreed, his large eyes narrowing. "I mean, he's got dat dorky hat, right? And dere's dat Pikachu!" His eyes narrowed greedily.

"And that little waif is no where to be seen," their third compatriot sneered eagerly. "All alone in the woods, what could be more perfect?"

The first one who had spoken frowned a little. "I don't know…" he said, squinting a little. "Something about him just doesn't look right…"

"Dat's just de lighting," the second one chided him. "Let's just grab dat Pikachu and get goin'! De Boss is gettin' _pretty_ annoyed dat we haven't sent 'im nothin' lately…"

"If you would just stop _talking_," the third snapped, slapping him in the back of the head, "we might just _do_ it!"

"_Can_ we just do it?" the first one begged. "I'm _hungry_!"

"That's what we're _going_ to do!" the third one snapped.

"So let's _do_ it already!" the second shouted at them.

*

"So let's _do_ it already!"

Remmy frowned. "Who's there?" he asked, standing up.

"Prepare for trouble!" a voice cried out, from one side of him.

Another voice answered it, from a different side. "And make it double."

"To protect the world from devastation!"

"To unite all peoples within our nation."

"To denounce the evils of truth and love."

"To extend our reach to the stars above!"

From a tree nearby, a tall, thin woman with long, brilliant pink hair leaped out dramatically, and struck an even more dramatic pose.

"Jessie!" she exclaimed.

From another tree, a slightly taller man, his somewhat long, pale blue hair parted down the middle, jumped down gracefully, then stood tall, a rose in his hand.

"James," he introduced himself.

"Team Rocket, blast off at the speed of light!" the young woman sneered.

"Surrender now," the young man said, looking directly at Remmy, "or prepare to fight."

A third figure leaped from the trees. This one had familiar ivory fur, but was much smaller than the one who Remmy was used to being that color, not to mention that he stood on two legs, and had a dull brown tail.

Cole frowned a little, cocking his head to the side. Curious, he walked toward the trio of strangers.

"_Meeeee_owth!" the third figure, an evolutional step downward from Manx, exclaimed. "That's right!"

Remmy looked at the Pokémon skeptically. "A talking Meowth?" He turned his skepticism on the dramatic young woman and mysterious-acting man. "Who _are_ you people?"

A frown passed over the man's face, and he looked at his human companion. "I don't know, Jess… something about him just doesn't _look_ right!" He looked at Remmy again, his frown deepening. He tapped his rose against his lips thoughtfully.

"Would you _shut up_, James?" the woman snapped at him harshly. "Let's just grab the Pikachu and go!"

Chia frowned. "Pika chi?"

The Meowth frowned, too. "Huh?"

"Pika, pikachu, chi, pichi chipika."

The Meowth looked at his teammates. "Dat ain't de same Pikachu!"

"Don't be stupid!" Jessie snapped. "He only has one!"

"Unless he caught another…" James muttered, apparently oblivious to the Eevee sniffing his boot.

"Would you just _shut up_!" Jessie slapped James in the back of the head, spilling the rose to the ground. James looked at her in surprise, not having seen the attack coming.

"Look," Remmy said, frowning even more, "I don't know what you guys' problems are, but, I don't know you, and I think that's a good thing."

"How can you _not_ know us yet?" the Meowth demanded sharply. "We've done our motto for ya t'ree _times_ already!"

"Umm…" Remmy shook his head. "No."

"He's just trying to confuse us!" Jessie snarled. She pulled a pokéball out of a pocket in her skirt. "Well, it's not going to work!"

Remmy frowned. He didn't think he really wanted to battle, especially not if they were set on stealing Chia… or another Pikachu, anyway. His frown deepened, as he decided what to do. "Drake?" he called. Behind him, he could hear bubbles rising in the pond. "Drake, Water Gun."

"Drake?" James echoed. "Who's-" Then his mouth fell open. His eyes glittered as a smile took over his face. "Jessie! Look! Is that- that's a- a-"

Before he could say what he wanted to, a blast of water shot him, Jessie, and their Meowth straight backwards.

Jessie was the first one to get up, sputtering. "That's a Dratini!" she yelled, getting to her feet. "Forget the Pikachu! Do you have any idea how well we'll be rewarded if we bring The Boss a Dratini?"

"We'll be rollin' in cash, caviar, an' tunafish!" the Meowth cried, jumping to his own feet.

The two human members of Team Rocket looked at their Pokémon teammate, somewhat confused. Jessie's hands were at her sides, clenched in fists; James's were behind his back. "Tunafish?" James echoed. The Meowth ignored them.

"You'll leave Drake alone," Remmy snapped. "_I'm_ training it."

"He gets the Pikachu, _and_ a Dratini?" James's voice was dangerously close to a whine. "That just isn't _fair_!"

"_What_ Pikachu!" Remmy snapped. He grabbed the baseball cap from his head and threw it down in frustration. "What are you _talking_ about!"

"Hey, Jessie?" James's frown had returned.

"_What?_" his partner snarled.

"Since when did the brat have red hair?"

"He _doesn't_, you-" Jessie glared at Remmy for a moment, then did a double-take. "Well, maybe he does, I didn't really-"

Remmy's eyes narrowed dangerously. He was really getting tired of this. He'd just wanted some peace and quiet! "If you don't just leave me alone, I'll have Chia Thundershock you from here to Lavender Town!" he threatened, not sure if he meant it. Chia, though just as unsure, got on all fours, her cheeks sparking, ready to attack if necessary.

"That might be a bad idea," James said, shaking his head. He pulled one of his hands out from behind his back.

"Eee!" Cole squealed, squirming, but the man had him firmly by the scruff of the neck.

Chia's eyes went wide, her mouth dropping open. Her cheeks sparked more, as her eyes narrowed into thin slits. "Pi… _kaa_…"

James clicked his tongue, shaking his head. "I wouldn't do that if I were you," he warned her. "You shock me, you shock your little pal here."

Chia scowled, staring at him. Then she looked at Jessie, and the Meowth. Her cheeks sparked brightly. "_PIKACHU!!_" she screamed, clenching her eyes shut. The clearing lit up in bright yellow light.

Her reasoning was simple.

Just because one of them had Cole, it didn't mean _all_ of them had Cole.

"Great… going… James," Jessie muttered in a slurred voice, dropping to her knees. The Meowth was out cold.

James looked in surprise at his two smoking teammates, then glared at the Pikachu. "That wasn't very nice!"

Chia's only reply was to spark her cheeks, her eyes still dangerously narrowed.

"You can't electrocute me while I hold your precious little Eevee," James reminded her sharply. He looked behind her, his eyes glittering. "And you can't spray me again, either!" he called to Drake. "Now, if you want this little guy back, the Dratini comes with me."

Remmy clenched his fists. "No way," he snapped.

"It ain't like we're givin' ya a choice, twerp," the Meowth sneered, swaying back to his feet. He swayed back and forth as he stood, not fully recovered from the shock. "Just hand ovah de Dratini, an' we'll give ya back ya stupid Eevee."

"Why should I believe you?" Remmy demanded.

The Meowth looked back at Jessie, who had managed to get up again, and James. "He's good."

"Like he said, brat, we're not _giving_ you a choice!" Jessie snapped. "The Dratini comes with us, or you can kiss _any_ hope of getting your Eevee back goodbye!"

"Da Boss would prob'ly _love_ choosin' wed'r ta evolve it inta a Flareon, or a Vaporeon…" Meowth added, sounding thoughtful.

Remmy gritted his teeth. He felt something brush his leg; Drake looked at him solemnly, its beautiful, dark purple eyes glittering.

Remmy looked down at Drake, frowning. Drake met his gaze. After a moment, its eyes narrowed playfully. It glanced at Team Rocket.

Remmy was lucky he had practice in not smiling.

He regarded Team Rocket, his eyes narrowed. "All right," he said hoarsely. "Give me Cole back."

Chia looked at him, startled. "Chee!" she cried.

"_Quiet_, Chia!" he snapped at her. She pulled away, looking at him in amazement. He ignored her. "Give me Cole back, and Drake will go with you."

"Ya think we _trust_ ya?" the Meowth snapped. He laughed. "No deal! Da Dratini foist!"

Remmy grimaced, looking down at Drake. Drake's right eye narrowed, just slightly, but then it slithered forward, toward Team Rocket.

Jessie gripped the pokéball in her hand. Her eyes narrowed. A Dratini for a little Eevee? Something just didn't seem right… She bared her teeth.

Wait a minute!

_Just because the Dratini was coming, didn't mean it was coming quietly…_

"Ekans, go!" she barked, throwing the pokéball at the Dratini. It smacked into Drake's forehead, making it squeal. The pokéball popped open, but instead of taking the Dratini in, another Pokémon, equally long and serpentine, but of a color like a lighter shade of Drake's eyes, coalesced.

"Hey!" Remmy shouted. Drake, dazed from getting the pokéball in the head, could barely resist as the snake Pokémon wrapped itself tightly around it. Drake squealed as the Ekans squeezed.

"Pika pi!" Chia yelled, darting forward. "Pika, pika, pika pikachu!"

"Koffing!" James threw a pokéball of his own. "Smog attack!" The ball cracked open, and a ball-shaped Pokémon, as purple as the one attacking Drake, appeared. With a deep-throated cry of "Koffing!", it opened its mouth and spewed out a nauseating black cloud.

Remmy dug into one of his pockets. "Pi!" He threw the ball into the air. It cracked open, and his Pidgey came out. Pi flapped his short wings quickly, surprised to find himself in mid-air. "Gust attack! Get rid of this… junk!" Coughing, the Pidgey did as he was told, blowing the smog back into the faces of Team Rocket.

Jessie glared at Remmy even as she gagged. "Give it up, twerp!" she snapped at him. "Ekans! Poison Sting!"

"Drake! Leer!" Remmy shouted.

Drake twisted, facing the Ekans, its eyes glowing a fiery blue.

"Ekans! Return the Leer!"

The Ekans glared right back at Drake, its own eyes gleaming yellow.

"Great!" the Meowth muttered, rolling his eyes. "A staring match!"

Remmy grimaced. The Ekans and Drake were in a stalemate, their bodies intertwined, their blazing eyes staring into each other's unblinking leer. Both were beginning to sweat. "Chia!" he barked. "Quick Attack! Help Drake!"

Chia looked at him, shocked. Double-team an opponent?

"No fair!" James shouted. "Only _we're_ allowed to cheat! Koffing, Sludge Attack the Pikachu, like you did the other one!"

Chia grimaced in an unintentional mimicry of her trainer, then darted forward before the Koffing's attacks hit her in the eyes. She barely flinched as it smacked into the tip of her short tail. She sprinted forward, slamming herself into the Ekans' head. The Ekans squealed in surprise at the sneak attack, while Drake took the chance to use a very handy move it had learned from Brock's Onix: it wrapped itself around the Ekans, and _squeezed_.

The Ekans' eyes flew open wide, and tears streamed down its face as it screamed. Drake bound it even tighter, wrapping its top coil just below its head. In a moment, the Ekans' eyes rolled back as it lost consciousness. A moment later, Drake unwrapped itself from its KO'd enemy, slithering to Remmy, and wrapped itself twice around his waist with its head resting over his shoulder, glaring spitefully at Team Rocket.

"Ekans, return!" Jessie ordered, holding out its pokéball. It did.

"We still have your Eevee!" James reminded them, holding Cole up even higher.

Remmy frowned. Chia's Quick Attack had made her look like nothing more than a blur. He glanced at her. She glanced back.

"What do you think, Chia?" he asked her quietly.

Chia looked at Cole, her eyes narrowed. She frowned.

"Chu," she replied, then seemed to disappear.

What happened next, happened too fast for Remmy to see, or to really understand at first. In the end, he only remembered a streak of yellow, a flare of white, a blinding yellow flash, and a loud scream of, "**_CHU!_**"

It took a few moments for Remmy to blink away the temporary blindness the second yellow… thing… had left behind. Dazedly, the two other humans and the Meowth were picking themselves up: the Koffing was out cold. Cole was no where to be seen.

"Chia? Cole?" Remmy called, looking around.

When he saw them, his jaw fell in surprise.

Chia, her eyes narrowed dangerously, put Cole gently on the ground. She glared spitefully at Team Rocket as James recalled his Koffing. "Chu!" she snapped.

The Meowth's eyes widened.

"Chu!" Chia yelled. She placed the tip of her tail against the ground. Sparks flew from her cheeks as she charged up.

"James, you moron!" the Meowth yelled at him.

"What'd I _do_?" the human squealed, staring fearfully at Chia, knowing what was coming.

"You threatened that dumb Eevee, that's what!" the Meowth yelled.

"So _what_?!"

"So now we're _really_ in for it!"

"_Chu_!" Chia screamed, clenching her fists and squeezing her eyes shut. "_Raichu_!"

Brilliant yellow light filled the clearing, but the attack was direct, condensed, and perfectly aimed. The enormous blast of electricity was more than enough to literally send Team Rocket flying.

Distantly, Remmy heard three frightened voices yell, "Looks like we're blasting off again…!"

Pi fluttered to a landing on one of the logs. He, too, stared at Chia in amazement.

Cole trilled a cheer, leaping into Chia's arms. She hugged him tight, and, for the first time, her arms went all the way around him.

Remmy chuckled in amazement. He rubbed Chia on the head, but he didn't have to lean down very far to do it. "No wonder the Viridian City Pokécenter blew up," he told her. "You probably weren't the only Pikachu holding back on evolving." She glanced at him. "You _had_ to be holding off. I mean, the timing was too perfect. You _were_ holding back, _weren't_ you?"

Chia boosted Cole to her shoulder, shrugging a little. "Raichu," she admitted, her tone the same as if she'd said, "Maybe."

Remmy shook his head. "First Ro, then the Poliwhirl… now you." Remmy chuckled, turning a little to look at Pi. "You're not about to evolve, are you?"

Pi's eyes narrowed a little in his equivalent to a smile. "Pidge, pid," he replied, shaking his head.

"I won't stop you."

Pi cooed a chuckle, and shook his head again. He was sure.

"Want to go back in your pokéball?" With a trill of agreement, Pi did just that. Remmy regarded Chia with a grin. "You _walk_ back. There's no _way_ you're riding my shoulder again!"

Chia just grinned.

**__**

A Pallet Pair #5b:

The Making of a Team

Ivonar hesitated a moment before knocking. She hugged Static to her chest nervously. Manx, the picture of calm, sat beside her, and began licking his right front paw.

The door opened, to reveal a small man whose entire face but for his cheerful eyes seemed lost in a cloud of curly white hair. It was impossible to tell where his hair ended and his thick, long beard began. "Welcome!" the man cried, his eyes sparkling with humor. "Come in, come in! I don't get many visitors! Yes, do come in!" He stood aside to let Ivonar in.

A little stunned at the enthusiastic welcome, it took a moment for her to realize she was a Pokémon short. "Come on, Manx." Manx glared at her, then snorted, returning his attention to his paw. "Manx!" This time he didn't even look at her.

"Come on in, and I'll give you a nice big fish," the man offered.

Manx glanced at him, frowning a little, then stood, stretched, and meandered inside.

"So, what brings you here, young lady?" the man asked her. She started to follow him, but he gestured for her to sit down. "No, no, you stay here. Old Farley keeps his promises! And I'll bring us some lemonade to drink while we talk." He wandered deeper into the cabin. Ivonar made herself comfortable in an armchair as she listened to Old Farley hum to himself. Sweetie jumped into her lap for pets; Fluffball and Static amused themselves by untying Ivonar's shoelaces and playing with them. Soon the man returned with a plate of fish in one hand and two tall glasses of lemonade in the other. "So, what brings you here?" he asked again, as he placed the fish in front of Manx.

"I'm Ivonar Marain, from Pallet Town," Ivonar began. She thanked him with a smile as she accepted one of the lemonades. "I would have started training a couple years ago, but when I was ten I got the flu, and last year I broke my leg. But now that I've finally started training… it really hasn't gotten any better."

"Oh?" Old Farley sat in a rocking chair, sipping his lemonade.

Ivonar shook her head. "I keep getting Pokémon that are too strong, and won't listen to me," she explained. "One of the first Pokémon I caught was a Spearow, which evolved into Fearow, and the only reason I still have her is because she's thankful I helped her evolve." Ivonar put the untouched lemonade down on the small table in front of her. With one hand, she pet Sweetie; with the other, she toyed with the pokéball in the fifth pocket in her belt. "My friend caught a Poliwag and let me have it. I sent it away for a little while because I already had six Pokémon, but when I got it back, it came back as a Poliwhirl. As a Poliwag, it was a skittish little thing, but now it's too stubborn to listen." Briefly, her hand slid from the fifth pocket to the fourth, then moved to the third. "And there's Manx. He was my mom's Pokémon, but she insisted I take him with me. He won't battle, and he keeps coming up with excuses not to go into his pokéball." Finished with his treat, Manx glared at Ivonar for a moment, then, ignoring her, curled up by Old Farley's chair. Ivonar bit her lip. "Then there's Nuisance," she said finally. "My brother gave him to me last year, partly because he felt bad because it was his fault I broke my leg, and partly because he didn't really like him. I never trained Nuisance, not like my mom did Manx. So far, all I've taught him is Tail Whip."

"Has he been giving you trouble, too?"

"That's just it," Ivonar said, shaking her head. "He _hasn't_." She sighed, trying to think of how to explain. "I never trained Nuisance," she said again, "but someone did. Nuisance is extremely powerful. He knows Psychic Toss, and he used it on a huge Onix."

Old Farley's mouth fell open, revealing itself from within his beard. "_Psychic Toss_ on an _Onix_?" Ivonar nodded. The man frowned, his mouth disappearing again. "Go on."

Ivonar grimaced. "There really isn't anything more to say," she told him. "Nuisance has been a great pet. He sleeps on my feet every night. It's… it's like capturing a Caterpie, then finding out it's a Weedle. My harmless pet is an extremely dangerous Pokémon. But he always listens to me. He's never once been a problem."

Old Farley's fist disappeared as he rested his chin on it. "When you first start training," he said thoughtfully, "It's natural to have problems. You don't know what you're doing yet." Ivonar could tell he was frowning, because the cheerful sparkle left his eyes. "Let all your Pokémon out. Let me talk to them in private." He stood up, reaching down to ruffle the fur between Manx's ears. "Come on. You first." With a snort, Manx climbed to his feet and followed Old Farley deeper into the cabin.

"You heard what he said," Ivonar said. "Everybody out." With one big flash of red light, the room was suddenly crowded with Pokémon. "All of you behave," Ivonar told them, rubbing Sweetie's head nervously.

Ro glared at her, then lay down on the couch, eyeing the other Pokémon warily. Tagalong sat in the rocking chair, sulking. Char played with Fluffball by rolling an ashtray around for her to chase, then bring back when it stopped rolling and fell over. Static got himself hopelessly tangled in Ivonar's shoelaces, but was having fun trying to get out. Nuisance sat by Ivonar's chair, his fingers pressed to his forehead, looking upset, while the Kakuna simply stood perched against the table, looking bored.

Manx returned after a few minutes, and Char took Fluffball with her. When those two returned it was Ro's turn, then the Kakuna's. After the Kakuna, the Poliwhirl went to "talk" with Old Farley. While the Poliwhirl was gone, there was a knock at the door. Nervous about what the Pokémon were telling Old Farley, and feeling desperate for something to do, Ivonar answered the door. There was Remmy, with Cole and-

"A Raichu?"

Remmy grinned, giving the Raichu's head a rub. "Chia," he replied.

"Oh." She left the door open, going back to her chair. "Make yourself at home. He's talking to Tagalong at the moment."

Remmy frowned a little, sharing a skeptical glance with Chia, then shrugged it off and, after shutting the door behind them, took a seat in the rocking chair. He returned Ro's suspicious glare with a grin, which made her look away.

The Poliwhirl returned, wondering into the room, looking much more cheerful. Old Farley peeked in the doorway. "Well, _that_ one was simple enough," he said. "I'm ready for Nuisance now. While we're gone, you two can figure out the name thing."

"Name thing?" Remmy echoed.

Old Farley looked at him in surprise. "Where'd you come from?" he asked, then he shrugged. To Ivonar, he said, "The only problem your Poliwhirl has is that he hates the name you gave him. You and him figure out something else, 'kay? Come on, Nuisance."

Nuisance glanced at him, then looked at Ivonar. She forced herself to smile, rubbing his head. "Go on," she told him. "It's okay." Nuisance frowned, and, for a moment, Ivonar felt… cold, nervous, alone. "What…" Nuisance stood up, giving her leg a brief hug, then waddled after the old man.

Ivonar shook off the cold feeling that had come over her, and looked at the Poliwhirl, which was still standing near the doorway. "I'm sorry," she said.

"I'd been wondering why you named it Tagalong," Remmy told her.

She shrugged a little. "I only caught Tag- er, the Poliwag - because Static liked him, and because he didn't look interested in going back in the water. He was sort of tagging along with us." The Poliwhirl frowned a little. "I'm really sorry," Ivonar said again. The Poliwhirl shrugged slightly. "Do you… uh… have any suggestions, or anything?"

"Po," the Poliwhirl replied, crossing its arms and squinting a little.

Remmy grinned. "Didn't know you could talk to Pokémon too, Eevee."

"Shuddup," Ivonar told him ruefully. She grinned at the Poliwhirl. "He's right though."

"Po!" the Poliwhirl said again. He put his hands on his almost nonexistent hips. "_Po_."

"You want to be called Poe?" Ivonar asked, frowning a little.

For the first time, the Poliwhirl smiled. "Po!"

"Okay!" Ivonar smiled. "Poe it is. I'm real sorry, Poe." The Poliwhirl shrugged a little. He perched on the table next to the Kakuna. "That's really it? You just didn't like your name?" Poe shrugged a little, frowning slightly. Ivonar smiled a little. "That's all that _really_ bugged you?" Poe smiled a little, nodding slightly.

"Who needs somebody who can talk to a Pokémon when you can guess?" Remmy asked Ivonar.

She glared at him ruefully. "How many times have I told you to shut up today?"

"Not as many times as yesterday."

"I'll have to speed it up."

"Tha-"

"Shut up."

"Okay, you're caught up."

"Am not."

"You think I'd lie to you?"

"About that, maybe."

"Be nice, Old Lady."

"You first, red-haired kid."

Remmy grinned. Ivonar gave him a tolerant half-smile. "You know, I've been wondering," Remmy said, doing his best to look thoughtful while still grinning, "when, exactly, did _I_ stop tagging along?"

Ivonar frowned a little. "What do you mean?"

"When we left Pallet, you said I could stick with you as long as I could keep up."

"Why'd you decide to come with me, anyway?"

"I wasn't about to talk to Gary about that," Remmy replied. Ivonar rolled her eyes; she knew what he meant. "And Ash… I don't know. He's always been kind of obnoxious, you know? Bragging about how great he's going to be. They make a great pair - Ash bragging about how great he's going to be, and Gary having a whole squad of cheerleaders yelling about how great he _is_." Remmy looked thoughtful for a moment. "You just didn't."

"Didn't?"

"You just try your best. You don't act like you're already perfect. Can you imagine Gary, or Ash, coming here, if they had a problem with their Pokémon listening to them?" For the first time, Ivonar saw Remmy smile. Not grin - just smile. "You didn't answer _my_ question."

She considered it, then shrugged a little. "I don't know. I guess it was after we caught Pidge and Pi. When we actually started _training_, you know, not just getting our starting Pokémon. When it just… started." She laughed. "Am I making _any_ sense?"

"No." Remmy grinned. "But who said you had to?"

"That's true. I mean, after a week with you, how could I possibly know what sense means anymore?"

"What's _that_ supposed to mean?"

Manx rolled his eyes, putting his paws over his ears.

"Miss Marain?"

Ivonar looked up, surprised. Her surprise increased when she saw the solemn look on Old Farley's face. She stood up. "What? What's wrong?"

Silently, he motioned for her to join him in the next room. Ivonar glanced at Remmy; without a word, they both stood up (pausing a moment for Ivonar to get Static out of her shoelaces, and her laces re-tied) and entered the small kitchen. Old Farley sat at the table, and motioned toward the one other seat in the room; her mouth set in a grim line, Ivonar sat down. Remmy looked around for someplace to sit, and finally chose to perch on the counter next to the sink. Nuisance, looking kind of distant, wandered from a corner to lean his head against Ivonar's leg.

Old Farley folded his hands together, looking thoughtful for a moment, before speaking. "Well, I talked to all your Pokémon," he began, "and I must say, each one of them has a very interesting story. One day, I'm sure they'll tell you them, because I'm sure you'll be training them for quite some time - long enough to learn to understand them." Ivonar looked at him in surprise. Old Farley smiled. "They all respect you, in their own way. For example, Ro is quite taken by your bravery. Rather than hide, you chose to fight those Beedrills. The Kakuna, too, is impressed that you fought so hard for it. It'll be hatching in a couple days, by the way." He winked at her. "As I said, with the Poliwhirl, he was simply upset that you chose such a demeaning name for him. I'm sure you have that worked out now." Ivonar nodded slightly. "He realizes that you didn't really want to catch him, and is quite pleased that you would allow him to fight for you anyway. Now, Char is _willing_ to respect you…" His tone became that of a gentle warning. "… but only if you use her more in battle. She feels left out." Ivonar frowned a little: she'd only been in two battles - the one with Samurai, and the one with Brock - and she'd used Char in the one against Samurai. Then she remembered how quickly the Pinsir had given up, and nodded again. If Char wanted to battle more, she'd battle more. "Now, _Manx_…" Old Farley chuckled. "Manx is an exceptional case…" He glanced toward the other room, then leaned forward, as if to tell a secret. Ivonar leaned forward as well. Quietly, Old Farley said, "Manx has the natural aloofness of a cat. He doesn't want to look like he cares. But one thing is clear about him: he has a very protective nature. Forgive the expression, but Manx is quite the mother hen." Ivonar giggled in spite of herself. "You're actually better with him out of his pokéball, I think. He admits to adopting the Eevees, but I think he's adopted you, too."

Ivonar smiled, but then her smile faded. She remembered how much she'd hated - well, not really _hated_, but _extremely_ disliked - Manx back home. But, since starting her training… it was like with her and Remmy. Without really noticing, they stopped simply tolerating each other or just knowing _of_ each other, and worked as a team. She remembered Manx, his lips pulled back, snarling at thirty Beedrills, daring them to attack.

Never once had she realized he'd done that for _her_.

The shock of the sudden realization made her jump slightly, as if she'd dragged her socked feet across a thick carpet and touched a metal doorknob. She looked toward the doorway to the other room, where she could see Manx trying to keep Static occupied while Ivonar's shoelaces were not available. She smiled to herself: here she'd thought he'd "adopted" four Eevees, when the whole time, he'd adopted five.

When she turned back to look at Old Farley again, he was frowning once more. "Then, of course, there is the matter of Nuisance."

Instantly, Ivonar's smile died. She looked down at the Pokémon who had his head rested against her leg; he looked up at her, and she felt it again: the cold nervousness, the sense of distance that came with being utterly alone. "What about Nuisance?" she asked quietly, rubbing his head gently. The cold feeling faded almost instantly.

"Well, for one thing," Old Farley began with a sigh, "he's older than you think. A year older, actually. And he _did_ have a trainer before you." Ivonar looked up, away from Nuisance, at Old Farley. "His other trainer was quite strict with him. Not physically brutal - not strict in _that_ sense - but strict in training his mind. Simply put, his old trainer wanted him to evolve, and they wanted it very badly." Old Farley sighed again. "But his other trainer had other Pokémon. They had another Psyduck, who evolved first. They abandoned Nuisance about three weeks before your brother found him. A week after _that_, he was given to you." One of Ivonar's hands rested gently on Nuisance's head, but the other, on the table, shook violently. Old Farley smiled a little, reaching over the table to stop her hand. "He was quite adamant in saying that that was the best thing to ever happen to him."

Ivonar wasn't sure where to look, or what to say. First she stared silently at Old Farley, gratitude and sorrow warring for control over her face. Then she looked at Remmy, but his face was blank, impossible to read. Finally, she slid out of her chair and wrapped her arms around Nuisance, hugging him tight. "Oh, Nuisance, I'm so sorry…" she whispered.

"Psy…" He hugged her back, his bill rested over her shoulder. "Psy ai, ai psy-ai-duck, psyduck psy duck psy."

"He says that you have nothing to be sorry for," Old Farley translated.

Ivonar shook her head a little. "I know," she replied.

Old Farley stood up quietly. "I don't think I need to tell you how _he_ feels," he said. He glanced at Remmy, still perched on the counter. "Don't you have anything better to do, boy? Get offa there." He ushered Remmy out of the room.

A moment later, Ro stalked in, her wings folded to her sides, her dangerous eyes looking around suspiciously, checking for any danger. Seeing none, she hopped onto the chair Ivonar had abandoned, spreading her wings protectively.

Next to enter the room was Char, Fluffball still tagging at her heels. Char ducked under Ro's left wing, looking at Ivonar worriedly. Silently, she rested a paw against Ivonar's shoulder. Fluffball stopped prancing about, frightened by Ro's spread wings and worried by the silence.

Poe came next, lugging the Kakuna with him. Static was trying to help by shoving at the base of the Kakuna with his head, but in reality he wasn't really doing anything. Poe put it down, resting it against the chair Ro had commandeered, and stood next to Char, equally silent, equally solemn. Static sat next to Fluffball, equally as upset and confused as his sister.

Finally came Manx, carrying Cole in his mouth. Sweetie raced passed him to jump onto Ivonar's shoulder, wrapping her tail protectively around the back of Ivonar's neck. Manx put Cole with Fluffball and Static, then nudged Ivonar's shoulder with his head. She looked at him, and his pointed, impatient look. She looked at the others - at Ro, her wings spread wide; at Char's worried face; at the upset Eevees and unreadable Poliwhirl and Kakuna; and at Nuisance, who was just starting to smile again. Then she looked at her impatient, tailless Persian once more.

And, for no reason at all, she had to laugh.

And so she did.

*

They stayed for a couple days, resting for the long trip ahead of them. Remmy and Ivonar agreed to head for Cerulean City next, but this time, they would walk and enjoy it.

The day before they left, Old Farley took Ivonar aside. "Whenever I give someone help with their Pokémon, I give them a gift to help them on their journey," he told her. "Usually, I give them super potion, or some other healing, or energy, sort of thing… but, considering your crowd, I've decided to give you something a little different." He held out a small pouch, putting it in her hands. Before she could protest, he said, "I know you'll get use out of these - at least, with some of them. Not right away, perhaps, but some day." He smiled. "Perhaps when you're ready for some of your Pokémon to evolve again."

Even though she knew he was trying to get her to look, Ivonar managed to wait until she was alone. In the little pouch there were three stones - one ocean blue, one bright yellow, and one fiery orange.

Not sure whether to grimace or smile, Ivonar had closed the bag and packed it deep in her backpack. Old Farley was right - she wouldn't be needing them any time soon.

The next day, leaving their bikes behind with Old Farley, Remmy and Ivonar slung their backpacks on their backs and headed out, their Pokémon beginning their journey with them. Remmy and Ivonar waved back to Old Farley for a long time, until finally they couldn't see him anymore.

For awhile, they walked in silence. Sweetie rode on top of Ivonar's backpack, enjoying the view. Drake had managed to balance itself on Remmy's pack while wrapped in a tight coil, its purple eyes glittering happily. Ratzy and Saurus walked on one side of Remmy, glad to be able to stretch their legs and enjoy the brilliant sunshine. Somehow, Cole had figured out how to balance on Chia's narrow shoulders, but that might have been because she had her long tail wrapped around him once, to keep him there. Static pranced along between Poe and Nuisance, who seemed deep in conversation; to anyone who could understand, it was obvious that Poe was trying to explain how to use a Water Gun attack, but at the moment it didn't really matter to any of the others. Fluffball was busy alternating between trying to climb onto Manx's head as he walked and trying to capture Char's tail without getting burned; she wasn't having much success at either, but she was having fun just in trying. Overhead, Nasty and Pi flew on either side of Ro, although Pi flew noticeably lower than Nasty, his natural dislike of the other birds showing itself in the distance he chose to keep. However, their newest member flew even lower - in fact, he kept barely a foot above Manx, his fragile wings beating the air with a gentle hum.

He'd hatched from his Kakuna shell quite late the night before, and right until sunrise they'd tried to come up with a name for him, but, quite frankly, there was no name he liked better than what he had been called before.

Ivonar looked at her newest Pokémon with a grin. "I'm probably the only Pokémon trainer with a Beedrill named Kakuna," she laughed.

"Not Kakuna," Remmy corrected her. "_The_ Kakuna."

"Of course," Ivonar chuckled. "My mistake." She hitched her backpack higher onto her shoulders, grinning at the cry of protest from her passenger. "Hey, Remmy?"

"Yeah?"

"What did you do, while I was at Old Farley's? You were gone for almost an hour."

Remmy laughed, grinning. He bent down a little to give Chia's head an affectionate rub. "You're probably not going to believe me…."


	6. Default Chapter Title

**__**

A Pallet Pair #6:

Cerulean Showdown

Ivonar sighed as she hiked her backpack farther up her back. "Are we almost there?" she complained. She pretended to yawn. "I'm starting to fall asleep, here. We need some action." She rubbed her stomach. "Not to mention breakfast. How do I let you talk me into hiking before we eat?"

Remmy chuckled as he unfolded the map he'd started to keep in his pocket ever since his partner had started to get edgy. "We'd be there already if we didn't get lost in Mount Moon."

"Oh be quiet," Ivonar muttered, pouting. Sweetie trilled sympathetically from where she was perched on her trainer's backpack. "I _said_ I was sorry. Besides, you wouldn't have gotten Fairie if I hadn't gotten us lost."

"If I hadn't gotten Fairie, we'd _still_ be lost," Remmy laughed, holding the map out ahead of him as he walked. 

Ivonar chuckled dryly, rubbing at a bruise on the back of her wrist. "Remind me never to call that cruel little fuzzball 'cute'," she told him. "You'd think I called her ugly!"

Remmy laughed again. "I will," he promised. "And yes… according to this, we're almost there." He folded the map again, and put it back in his pocket. It was really Ivonar's map, but they had quickly realized that Ivonar couldn't read it. She couldn't even _pretend_ to read it.

"What's with you, anyway?" Ivonar demanded. Remmy smiled vaguely to himself as he prepared to listen to another rant. "I mean, you don't even _want_ to train, but _you're_ the one who is just _born_ with this… this skill! This luck! I don't know what! All I know is, you battle-"

"-coach-" he corrected her patiently.

"-_whatever_, Pokémon with this natural… _thing_!… _and_ you get rare Pokémon like… like… I don't _know_ what!"

He chuckled. "It's my feet," he told her, grinning. Drake trilled its own laugh from where it was coiled on his backpack. "I caught Drake by fishing with them - unintentionally, but I did - and I tripped over Fairie. It's my feet."

"I don't care _what_ it is," Ivonar pouted. "It just annoys me that you have it. Can't you share, or something?"

Remmy just laughed. He pointed ahead of them. "Cerulean City should be on the other side of this hill we're on," he said. "That road sign probably says as much."

"Let's check." Ivonar ran ahead, Cole, Fluffball, and Static at her heels. Shaking his head tolerantly, Remmy kept up his normal pace, not wanting to make Drake cling to his pack for dear life, like Sweetie was doing to Ivonar's. Manx, out of his ball as always, gave Remmy a glance of approval; after all, who wanted to chase after Ivonar when she got like this? The Eevees had an excuse, of course - they were just kids.

Neither the boy nor the tailless Persian reacted in any way when they heard Ivonar wail a moment later. They simply took their time getting to where she was, staring at the sign.

"Look at this!" she cried.

Remmy looked.

"CERULEAN CITY", it said, with an arrow pointing the way they were going.

Then, in small, hand-written letters, it said in a corner:

"_Gary was here. Ash is a loser!_"

"At least he didn't say anything about us," Remmy told her.

"Who _cares_ about that?" Ivonar demanded. "Gary _beat_ us here! He's _ahead_ of us!"

Remmy sighed tolerantly. "Eevee, forget that we _walked_ here from Old Farley's. Even if we biked the whole way, we wouldn't have beaten him." Ivonar pouted at him. "Eevee," he said again, "what did you expect? Forget the bikes. Gary has a _car_."

Ivonar just pouted. "He beat us," she muttered again.

Manx rolled his eyes, snorting softly.

Remmy grinned, chuckling. He threw one arm around Ivonar's shoulders, forcing her away from the sign. "The longer you stand there, the farther ahead he gets," he pointed out.

"_What?!_" Ivonar screeched, as if the thought hadn't occurred to her. There was a possibility it hadn't. "Ahh! Come on!" She sprinted ahead, holding the straps of her backpack with her hands to keep it from bouncing too much. The three Eevees on the ground ran after her.

Remmy and Manx shared a knowing look, _then_ ran after her.

*

Remmy grinned as he slowed to a stop at the bottom of the hill. "Don't tell me you're tired already."

Ivonar leaned over, her hands on her knees. Sweetie leaped to the ground. Ivonar glared up at Remmy's grin. "Shut… up," she gasped. "Don't… you know… what… 'slow down'… means?"

Manx sat down beside Ivonar and started licking nonchalantly at his right front paw.

Ivonar glanced at her Pokémon. "Knock it off," she told him, giving his head a backwards rub. He glared at her, then began getting the fur on his head back into place. "That paw healed a long time ago. And you're no better than Remmy." She returned her glare to her fellow trainer as she stood up straight again. "What's the big idea, with you two running so far ahead?"

"You seemed in such a hurry," he told her, spreading his hands as if to show that it wasn't _his_ fault. "Sorry you couldn't keep up."

"Be quiet!" she told him, taking a mock swipe at him. He dodged anyway. "Don't mock me. It's not nice." He just grinned. She looked forward again, toward their destination. "This is Cerulean City, huh?"

"Didn't you say that about Pewter City?"

"I said nothing like that about Pewter City. I said that Pewter City was gray. This is…" She tried to think of a single word to describe it, but couldn't. Unlike Pewter City, Cerulean City didn't really strike her as different from any other city. "This… isn't." Remmy laughed. Ivonar glared at him tolerantly. "Let's find that gym," she told him, picking Sweetie up before she started forward again. Manx stood up, took a nice, long, stretch, then trotted after her. He paused only to give Remmy a significant glare and to let Fluffball and Cole catch up to him.

Remmy gave the Persian a faint smile, then reached into one of his pockets, gripping the pokéball there. "Come on, Chia," he murmured, following after them. "We'll get you to the Pokécenter." While in Mount Moon, they'd had a few problems, not the least of which was when Ivonar got them lost by chasing after a Paras. Chia had stumbled into a ditch, spraining her ankle; the last few days had been strange, without her. Cole was kind of mopey; he didn't romp around with Fluffball, as he had when they first found him. Instead he sort of tagged after her, staying back more with Static.

The eight of them - the five Eevees (so to speak), Remmy, Manx, and Drake - entered Cerulean City, with an understated commotion not too much unlike that which greeted them in Viridian City. Now, though, there was only one of them who drew much attention in the bigger city.

"Is that a _Dratini_ on his backpack?"

"A what?"

"It's a stuffed animal, or a balloon, or something. It's not real."

"It just blinked!"

"No way! He's got a Dratini!"

"Hey, kid! How much for that Dratini!"

"I'm tellin' ya, it's not real!"

"Remmy?" Ivonar frowned a little, even as she hugged Sweetie close. "I think you'd better put Drake back in its pokéball. It's drawing an awful lot of attention."

"I know." Remmy was frowning, too. He shook his head as yet another prospective buyer walked toward him, heavy wallet in plain view. "Drake, she's right. I don't think it's safe for you out here."

Drake pouted, trilling in annoyance, but it dissolved in a flare of red light, making several people cry out, and zipped back into its pokéball.

"See, I told you it was real!" the companion of the disbeliever chided them.

"Hey, kid! I'll give you a Charizard and a Blastoise for all your Eevees!"

Ivonar groaned, hugging Sweetie tighter. "What is _with_ these people!" she grumbled. Then, she stopped walking, put Sweetie down, and screamed at the top of her lungs, "_We are NOT selling our Pokémon!_"

Several people around them cried out in surprise, some cringing, others literally leaping for cover. Several others glared at her, saw her scowl, and decided to look elsewhere for a deal.

"You drive a hard bargain," Remmy teased her, grinning.

"Be quiet." Manx snickered, smiling faintly at Ivonar. She glared at him. "I noticed nobody offered anything for the tailless Persian, Manx, so stop grinning at me." Manx scowled, his ears rotating back. She reached for his head, but he pulled away roughly. "Hey, I was kidding!" He snorted, growling softly, and looked away. "Sheesh."

"That was kind of harsh, Ivonar," Remmy told her, frowning.

"I didn't mean it," she grumbled in reply. She looked around, then paused. "Hey, look at that!" she said, pointing. "Sound like fun?"

What she was pointing at was a fairly large poster, advertising some sort of synchronized swimming show. Remmy frowned, looking at it more closely. He read the fine print. _Come see the amazingly talented trio of Synchronized Swimming Sisters of Cerulean City before all shows sell out!_ His frown deepened. "Only three?" he muttered.

"Huh?"

"Yeah, it sounds great," he said, sounding distracted. "Let's get our Pokémon to the Pokécenter for now, then see when the next show is."

"Cool." Still, Ivonar frowned. Something was bugging Remmy… but what?

What did he mean, "only three"?

*

After quick breakfasts, baths, and changes of clothes, they left the Pokécenter and went to in search of the location of the show. It turned out to be pretty easy to get directions to the aquarium-like gym where the show was supposed to be. Ivonar frowned thoughtfully at the huge sculpture of a Seel that graced the front of the building. "Could almost be a Pokémon Gym," she muttered. Remmy shrugged a little. Whatever funk he'd fallen into hadn't lifted. Cole rode on his shoulder while Fluffball squirmed in his arms; Sweetie had her tail curled around Ivonar's neck while she kept up her usual perch, and Static was much more behaved than Fluffball as he half-dozed in Ivonar's arms. It felt funny, not having Manx along, but he'd decided to nap back at the Pokécenter, leaving the humans to deal with the restless little Eevees.

It was a little difficult to find seats, but they got lucky - there were a couple seats half-way up, situated near the middle of the pool. The only problem they had was when somebody sat behind them and asked them to get the Eevees off their shoulders. That, of course, was easily fixed.

The show started about ten minutes later, and, to be honest, Ivonar was disappointed. It was kind of boring. The music was soft and gentle, which kind of lulled her half-asleep, and while the three performers _were_ graceful, they were nothing compared to Ro or Drake. Sure, that wasn't a fair comparison, but it was how she felt. She started yawning before it was half over. By three-quarters of the way through, she'd untied one of her shoelaces to keep an equally restless Fluffball, and herself, amused. Sweetie napped under Ivonar's seat - considering, once off Ivonar's shoulders, she couldn't see what was happening anyway - and Cole just sort of moped on the floor.

The only two that were at all interested were Static and Remmy. Static, of course, stared longingly at the pool, while Remmy squinted down at the three swimmers, as if he recognized them from somewhere, but couldn't remember their names. "What's wrong?" Ivonar whispered to him once. He just shrugged. Everyone else around them "shh!"d her. She gave them all a funny look, and returned to her shoelaces.

*

"Hey, Eevee, you can tie your shoe now." She looked up at his grin. "Show's over. Come on."

"Glad _you_ liked it," she said, tying her shoe quickly. She stood up, yawning. "But it was kinda a waste of money, in my opinion."

"Yeah. Let's go."

"Where're _you_ running to?" Ivonar asked, scooping up Fluffball and letting Sweetie jump onto her shoulder. "The Pokémon Gym? What are we going to do, battle with the Eevees?"

Remmy shook his head. "There's somebody - well, somebod_ies_, anyway - that I need to talk to here."

"Somebod_ies_?" she echoed curiously. "And who might those bodies be?"

"The somebodies who were swimming before. I know them."

"You do?" Suddenly, it clicked. "_That's_ why you said 'only three' before! What, there used to be more?"

He shrugged as he jogged off the stands, Ivonar at his heels. Cole and Static hurried at _her_ heels; Cole came close to tumbling end-over-end down the last dozen steps, but managed to catch himself. "Something like that," Remmy replied vaguely.

They were quiet as they made their way around the pool, Remmy's face expressionless, Ivonar's expression a mix of confusion and curiosity. Static "accidentally" fell into the pool, and paddled his way through the water instead of walking. Cole giggled, and jumped in after him. Fluffball looked at them both as if they were crazy; Sweetie just gave them a funny look; and Remmy and Ivonar kept an eye on them, making sure they didn't tire themselves out and start drowning. Once around the pool (and once Static was fished out of the water, very much against his will), they headed down a set of damp stairs, going _below_ the pool. Ivonar gasped in surprise at what she saw: it _was_ an aquarium! The entire bottom of the pool had transparent walls, giving view to the bright plants that swayed with each movement of the water. A Seel peeked out at them, grinned, and swam quickly away. "Wow," was all Ivonar could think to say. Remmy just shrugged a little. "What? This is a _heck_ of a lot better than that show we just saw."

He shrugged yet again. "I've seen it before," he replied. "We'd better hurry it up, or we'll miss them."

"Miss _who?_ You haven't given any names. How do you know these people?"

He looked at her, flashing a quick grin. "You'll see." He headed down the corridor a little more quickly. Ivonar hurried after him, but kept her eyes on the clear side of the pool.

Soon, from down the hall, voices could be heard.

"My timing was _so_ off. I am _so_, _so_ sorry!"

"As _if_! You were _perfect_, like _always_, Violet."

"You really think so?"

"Of course you were!"

"I don't know… I was _sure_ I was ruining _everything_… I didn't get much sleep last night, and…"

"Oh! Is something wrong?"

"Tell us!"

"No, no… everything's cool and all. I just didn't sleep well. Too much on my mind, I guess."

Remmy and Ivonar turned a corner, coming face to face with three older girls. The tallest had damp blond hair and a slightly worried look on her face; the one of middle height was violet-headed and grinning; the third had hair of brilliant pink, and a slight smile on her face. All three had towels thrown over their shoulders. In unison, the trio looked down at the pair of trainers. "Sorry," the tallest said, frowning a little. "We, like, don't give autographs and stuff."

"No worries there," Ivonar assured her, smirking a little. "He's looking for somebodies, that's all." She pointed at Remmy.

"You are?" The smallest looked at Remmy, then frowned, too. Her eyebrows drew downward, as if something had occurred to her, but she didn't quite know what she'd figured out. "We run everything at the gym, so you _must_ be looking for us." Remmy nodded, his expression blank. "You look, like, familiar, and stuff. Do we know you?"

He shrugged a little. "It's been awhile."

"Wait!" The tallest covered her mouth, smiling. "I _know_ that little shrug!" She took a step forward, leaning down to Remmy's eye level. "Lily, Violet, it's _Little Joey_!"

Ivonar cringed; the blond girl had squealed out her revelation in a very high-pitched voice, one that grated every single molecule in her spine. Static and Cole cowered in surprise, pressing their ears to the floor with their paws in case she did it again. Fluffball gave her a hideous glare she didn't see, but Sweetie just whimpered a little.

Remmy didn't even react to it; he just turned up the corners of his mouth in the faintest of smiles. "I'm not as little as I used to be," he replied, then added, "I hope."

The tallest girl gave him a bear hug. "Aw, Joey, you'll _always_ be little to us!" she cried happily. Then she turned to give her sisters a pointed look. "Are you two just going to _stand_ there? It's Little _Joey_!"

"Little Cousin Joey?" the violet-headed one echoed blankly. "I thought he was, like, six or seven, or something."

"Ten," Remmy said.

"'Little Joey'?" Ivonar murmured quietly, smirking at him.

"Shuddup," he replied, just as quietly. Then he held out one hand, toward the tallest. "This is my cousin, Daisy," he said, then moved his hand right, toward the smallest. "That's Lily, and-" he moved his hand toward the last one, "-Violet."

Ivonar shifted Fluffball to one arm so she could wave a little. "Hi."

"Where's Misty?" Remmy asked.

Lily rolled her eyes. "On one of her tiffs," she replied. "You know how she is. Get her a _little_ upset, she's ready to kill somebody."

"Your parents here, Joey?" Daisy asked. "And who's your girlfriend?"

Ivonar gave her a cold glare that greatly resembled the one Fluffball was still wearing. Remmy wasn't sure if he wanted to grin at the glare or cringe at the mistake, and decided to ignore both. "This is my _friend_, Ivonar," he replied. "Everybody calls her Eevee, though."

"I can tell why," Lily said, smiling. She crouched down, reaching out toward Static. "These cute little sweeties are all hers, aren't they?"

"That's… another reason," he agreed. Ivonar looked at him; he just shook his head a little. The message was clear: _don't even try to make them understand_. Then, in the same way as before, he finished the introductions. "That's Static, Cole, Fluffball, and Sweetie."

"Oh, how _cute_!" Static gave Lily a wary look, wondering if she, too, would squeal, but all she did was rub him gently between the ears. She frowned slightly. "This one's all _wet_!"

Ivonar giggled. "He and Cole helped themselves to the pool. Static _loves_ water."

"Then you've come to the right place, little guy," Lily said, smiling. She took the towel off her shoulders and, after draping it over Static's back, gave him a quick rubdown.

"So, like, what brings you here?" Daisy asked.

"Cascade Badges, we hope," Ivonar replied.

"Badges?" Violet gasped. "You're _ten_ already, Joey?"

Ivonar and Remmy traded a look. "And Ivonar's twelve," he replied, for lack of anything better to say.

"That kid from Pallet Town _said _there were more trainers coming…" Daisy slapped her forehead. "Oh… my… gosh! _You're_ the other trainers?"

Ivonar scowled a little. "And that _other_ trainer would be Gary Oak." Her eyes widened. "Wait! How'd you know about Gary?"

"Yeah, that was him." Lily looked up at them, then frowned. She picked Static up as she stood up again. "And don't you know this is the Pokémon Gym?" She blew some stray strands of hair out of her eyes. "Hey, wait. You guys don't have any pokéballs, or anything. You don't, like, battle with _these_ guys, do you?"

Ivonar shook her head quickly, while trying to get the facts straightened out in her head. "Our _battling_ Pokémon are at the Pokécenter right now." She paused. "_You_ three are the gym leaders?"

"I feel so old," Daisy moaned, pouting. She didn't seem to have noticed Ivonar's question. "Misty almost a teenager, Little Joey already training Pokémon?" She sighed.

"So, what Pokémon are you training, Joey?" Violet asked.

"I started with a Bulbasaur," he answered, "then Eevee and I each caught a Pidgey and a Spearow. Then we found the Eevees, and Ivonar gave me her Rattata so she didn't feel bad about keeping them all."

"Where did you find Eevees around here?" Lily asked.

"We found them in Viridian Forest," Ivonar replied.

"Since when did Eevees live there?" Daisy asked, then shook her head. "Look, I am _so _beat. Let's go to the pool and sit down, okay?" As a group, they started back the way Ivonar and Remmy had come.

"They were in an abandoned den," Remmy answered her question. "Their mother died, so we adopted them."

"Correction." Ivonar laughed. "_Manx_ adopted them."

"Manx?" Violet echoed. "Who's Manx?"

"My mom's Persian," Ivonar replied. "My mom made me take him with me, because I wanted to take my Psyduck." She shrugged. "Moms. Who can figure them out?"

"As if," Lily agreed.

"The nurse at the Viridian Pokécenter gave me a Pikachu, who evolved into Raichu recently, and I fished a Dratini and three Magikarp out of the river-"

"A _Dratini_?" Daisy squealed. Ivonar and the Eevees cringed.

Remmy just grinned to himself. He was starting to get used to that reaction. "I gave Ivonar one of the Magikarp, because I didn't need three. We went through Mount Moon, where we both caught a Zubat. Then Ivonar started chasing after this Paras she saw, and we got lost. There was this one really dark section, but before Eevee sent out her Charmander to give us some light I tripped over something. Turned out to be a Clefairy. Fairie helped get Eevee and me out of Mount Moon, and I got another Pokémon." He frowned a little. "And… I think that's it."

"How long have you been training?" Daisy asked.

"A few weeks," Ivonar answered.

"And you already have _ten_ Pokémon? Wow." Violet beamed at him.

Remmy laughed. "That's nothing. Eevee walks _around_ with ten."

Ivonar pouted as she gave Fluffball a gentle squeeze. Fluffball gave her a tolerant glare. "I don't _battle_ the Eevees," she explained, sounding defensive, "so I'm not cheating by having them, _and_ six Pokémon - am I?"

"Of course not," Daisy assured her. She smiled to herself as she looked over the pool; all looked in order. She wandered to the side and, sitting on the edge, stuck her feet in. "Make yourselves at home, guys."

Lily giggled as she let Static go. He slipped a little on the moist floor, but hurried right over to the pool and jumped in. "Him and Vapor would get along really well," she snickered, sitting down beside her sister.

"Vapor?" Ivonar echoed.

"One of _my_ Pokémon," Lilly replied. She pouted. "That other kid's Squirtle beat Vapor, though. She's still at the Pokécenter. She Tail Whipped the Squirtle's shell, and her poor tail is all bruised."

"What about you, Eevee?" Violet asked.

Ivonar shook her head. "I'll say later. We still have a battle to do."

"How _many_ do you have?" Lily asked. "_That_ can't be a bad question, can it?"

Ivonar frowned a little, putting Fluffball down so she could use her fingers to count. "Um… Nuisance, Manx, Char, Pidge, Ro, Sweetie, Static, Cole, Fluffball, Rahta, The Kakuna, Poe, Ouch-Two, a Caterpie, a Pikachu, and a Zubat." She looked at her hands in surprise. "Sixteen."

"Wow." Violet and Daisy both sounded impressed.

"_We_ just deal with water Pokémon," Lily told them. "We each have three Pokémon… and Seel just sort of belongs to all of us. It's too weak to battle - it's just a pet."

"Don't underestimate pets," Ivonar said, thinking about Nuisance. "They can get pretty strong, too."

"So here's the deal," Daisy said. "When we battle, you go against each of us once. Three battles. You're allowed to use three Pokémon."

"Sounds fair," Ivonar agreed. "When's good for you?"

"We don't have another show until late this afternoon," Violet replied. "Anytime between then and now would be great." She wrinkled her nose. "It's either that, or scrub the pool."

"Ew!" her sisters agreed, cringing.

Ivonar clapped her hands. "Great! We'll be back real soon."

*

"You know," Ivonar whispered to Remmy, "there are _far_ too many Joys who look _way_ too much alike working at Pokécenters these days."

He nodded. "Definitely."

The nurse in question returned, a tray in each hand, Manx at her heels. Manx spared a glare for Ivonar, then occupied himself with checking on the Eevees, ignoring her completely. "Here you are!" Nurse Joy said cheerfully. "All as good as new."

"Chia?" Remmy asked, and one of the balls in the left tray popped open. With a flare of red light, the Raichu appeared, grinning. Cole leaped into her forepaws with a squeal of delight. Remmy crouched down to the Raichu's eye level, and rubbed the fur between her ears. "Feeling better?"

"Chai," Chia agreed, helping Cole to her shoulder. She wrapped her tail once around his middle to help him balance.

"Are you going to the Pokémon Gym?" Nurse Joy asked them.

"Yeah, right now," Ivonar replied. The nurse nodded, then disappeared into the back again, as Ivonar concentrated on getting her pokéballs in order. Using a water-proof marker, she'd written numbers on the button of each to make it easier. Char's had a "one", Nuisance's "two", Manx's "three", Poe's "four", Ro's "five", and The Kakuna's "six". She'd also drawn a ring around the middle of each pokéball, where the red and white halves joined. At the time she'd said it was to tell them apart from other people's pokéballs, but really she'd just done it because she'd been bored.

Remmy had also drawn waterproof circles around the middle of his pokéballs, but while Ivonar's pokéballs had black rings, his had blue. Quickly he placed half his pokéballs in one of the pockets in his shorts. Normally he only kept one pokéball in each pocket, but he was wearing shorts and a tee shirt instead of his normal jeans, tee shirt, and jacket, and didn't have enough pockets. "How do you keep them organized like that?" Ivonar asked him.

"I let the Pokémon do the sorting for me," he replied vaguely as he stuck the other three pokéballs in the other pocket of his shorts.

"Excuse me?" They looked up. Nurse Joy had reappeared. "This Pokémon is ready to go back to Lily at the gym. Could you return it, since you're going there?"

"Sure," Ivonar replied with a slight shrug.

"Be sure to tell Lily that it's not to battle for the next two weeks," Nurse Joy told them sternly as she ushered the Pokémon out from behind the counter.

It was a watery blue, its eyes large and black. Its large ears were fin-like, and it had a long, mermaid-like tail whose beauty was marred by the section of it wrapped in gauze.

"Vay," the creature greeted them, its bandaged tail held in a gingerly way. It rubbed its chin against Remmy's leg.

"Hey, Vapor!" Remmy grinned. "Haven't seen you in awhile."

Ivonar smiled a little at the Pokémon. Manx regarded her for a moment, then ignored her.

The Eevees all had their own reactions. Cole was too busy "chatting" with Chia to take any notice of her; Fluffball regarded her for a moment, her ears laid back slightly, before taking refuge under Manx. Sweetie looked down curiously from her perch on Ivonar's shoulder. And Static…

Static stared, open-mouthed, then approached slowly. "Vee?" he said softly.

The larger Pokémon looked down at him, then smiled softly. "Pour," she giggled, leaning down to look at him in the eye.

"Looks like Static's got a new friend," Remmy said, rubbing Vapor's head.

"I wouldn't doubt it," Ivonar replied. "I mean, he probably wants to be just like her when he's older, don't ya?" She grinned down at Static, who didn't even look at her. Instead he sniffed the Vaporeon's nose. "Come on. We have battles to fight."

Vapor looked up at her curiously, then back down at Static. She nudged him with her nose. "Ree," she murmured, heading for the door. Static scampered after her.

Yet again the group made quite a scene, but they managed to get back to the gym without much difficulty. "We're back!" Ivonar announced. She whistled softly, stopping right next to the pool. "Looks different." Now, several large floats were arranged on the pool. The three sisters stood on one on the far side.

"Vapor!" Lily called out. The Vaporeon's fin-like ears moved forward, and she trilled happily. "Come to mommy, honey!" The Vaporeon hurried off. Static whimpered softly, but before he could tag along, Manx grabbed him firmly by the scruff of the neck. He held him up until the smaller Pokémon gave up, then put him down. Static pouted, sulking, as he watched the Vaporeon leap onto the float with the three older trainers.

"You first," Remmy said.

"Huh?" Ivonar looked at him; he was standing against the bleachers, his arms crossed. "Oh!" She judged the distance to the closest float, then leaped onto it. She skidded a little on the smooth surface, but managed to get her footing. The float drifted farther into the pool; if it kept going the way it was, there was no way Ivonar was going to be able to jump back. She grimaced; swimming in wet jeans was no fun.

Daisy stepped forward. "You know and understand the rules?" she asked seriously. "We use one Pokémon each; you use three. You have to defeat all three of us to win."

Ivonar bit her lip for a moment, then nodded. "I understand."

Daisy nodded slightly, then threw out a pokéball. "I choose Staryu!"

Ivonar grimaced again, then reached quickly into the fourth pouch of her belt. "Go, Poe!"

Twin flares of light formed into two very different Pokémon. One Daisy's side, a starfish-like Pokémon landed on a float with a sharp cry of "Yah!" On a float near Ivonar, a dark-skinned beach ball with arms and legs got his bearings silently, then regarded his opponent with slightly narrowed eyes.

At the same time, Daisy and Ivonar pointed toward their rival's Pokémon. "Water Gun!" they shouted in unison.

Twin blasts of water met in the center of the pool, but soon the longer-trained Staryu began to get an edge. More water sprayed toward the Poliwhirl than the Staryu. "Poe!" Ivonar shouted. "Stop and Duck!"

The Poliwhirl was surprised, but he quickly dropped his attack, then fell face-first onto the float, so that the Water Gun attack went harmlessly above him - 

- and not-so-harmlessly knocked his trainer into the pool! Ivonar came up quickly, sputtering. "Should've seen that coming," she muttered to herself. "Poe, dive in and get closer!" she shouted as she boosted herself back onto the float.

Poe gripped the front of the float and pulled himself forward. His slick skin slid quickly against the smooth surface, so he was almost catapulted into the water long before the Staryu could take better aim. He skipped once across the surface of the pool before going under.

"Staryu, after him!" Daisy ordered. "Take it to the water!"

"Poe!" Ivonar yelled. "Don't rely water attacks! The Staryu's too strong!"

Daisy glanced at the younger trainer, impressed. She'd figured that fact out quite quickly…

For awhile, nothing could be seen but an occasional bubble. Ivonar squinted, but it was impossible; the water was sparklingly clear, but too many floats were in the way.

Then, with a sudden splash, the Staryu burst out of the water, flipping backwards onto a float. Poe leaped out after it, fists clenched. The Staryu tried gunning him again, but Poe dodged, and slammed a tight fist into its sparkling core. The Staryu grunted, and Poe squealed, as a sharp_ crack_ sounded through the gym.

Whimpering in pain, Poe took a step backwards, holding his sore arm with his other hand, to reveal the crack that spread from one side of the Staryu's core to the other.

"Yes!" Ivonar hissed under her breath.

"Staryu, return!" Daisy called. She smiled. "Nice job, Eevee." She took a step backwards.

"_My_ turn," Violet said, stepping forward. She held out a pokéball. "I choose Seadra!" The pokéball cracked open, and a new Pokémon coalesced. It glared at the Poliwhirl. For a moment, Ivonar blanched: what to do? But Violet wasn't so stuck. "Ink Spray!"

The Seadra shot out of the water and into the air, spitting several globs of pitch black ink at Poe. Poe managed to avoid some of them, and deflect others, but he got one in each eye. Blindly, he stumbled into the pool, but even that didn't wash the thick ink off.

"Poe, return!" Ivonar yelled. After a moment's pause, during which he tried to simply wipe the ink off and failed, the Poliwhirl did as he was told. Ivonar replaced his pokéball with one hand, and swiped some wet hair out of her eyes with the other. She reached into the fifth pouch, and threw the pokéball she withdrew into the air. "I choose Fearow!" She caught the pokéball as it came down again, empty. The Pokémon who had once occupied it flapped her long wings powerfully, screeching a warning. "Ro!" Ivonar shouted. "Be careful of its ink!"

"Seadra! Tackle! Get it in the water!" Violet ordered quickly. The Seadra leaped upward, fanning its needle-sharp fins quickly, as if to fly.

"Gust attack, Ro! Put it back down!"

With an ear-splitting scream, Ro flapped her powerful wings as fast as she could, hovering in place as she blasted the other Pokémon with gale-force winds. The Seadra fell back downward, bouncing once off of a float before slipping back into the water. Stunned, it shook its head quickly, trying to clear it.

Suddenly, Ivonar smiled. "Fish it out, Ro!" she shouted.

Ro glanced at her, then folded her wings and dove. She raked her talons forward.

"Dive!" Violet screamed, but not quickly enough - Ro's talons closed tightly around the Seadra, pulling it neatly out of the water. The Fearow flapped again, pulling away from the water.

Ivonar was grinning. _This_ was what Pokémon battles were supposed to be like. They were _listening_ to her! "To the ceiling!" she shouted. Ro flapped hard in the dead air of the gymnasium, going higher and higher, until her wingtips skimmed the ceiling with each upstroke. "Bombs away!" she shouted gleefully.

Ro crowed out victoriously, releasing her passenger. The Seadra fanned its fins as fast as it could, but it barely slowed its fall. Yet again, it smacked into a float, but this time, it didn't bounce. Instead, it squealed, and went limp.

Immediately, Ivonar's mouth fell open, her excitement turning to dread. "Is it okay?" she shouted across the room.

Violet smiled reassuringly, even as she pulled the pokéball out again. "She's survived worse," she replied. "Return!"

"You too, Ro." Ivonar held up the pokéball. The Fearow glared at her, but did as she was told.

The moment both Pokémon had returned, Lily stepped forward, Vapor at her side. "Now you face _me_," she said. She, too, pulled out a pokéball. "Ready?"

Ivonar nodded, pulling the pokéball out of the first pouch. "I choo-"

She heard a snarl behind her, and the float she stood on suddenly wobbled. She nearly fell off twice, first from losing her balance, then from surprise. "_Manx_?" she cried, staring at the large, tailless cat that had leaped onto the float. "What's with you?"

He glared at her, ears back. Then he looked forward again, and leaped to the next float. He skidded a little, but, unsheathing his claws, held on. He snarled challengingly at the pink-haired woman.

Ivonar frowned a little, then replaced the pokéball in its pouch. "Sorry, Char," she said, addressing the Pokémon inside. "You'd've had a disadvantage anyway. Next time." She patted the pouch.

Lily frowned a little, then tossed out the pokéball she held. "I choose Seaking!" she yelled. The pokéball landed in the water before opening to let out the enormous fish. "Seaking, Horn Attack!"

The huge fish darted forward like a torpedo, the horn on its head aimed at the float with the Persian. Manx bared his teeth threateningly.

Quickly, Ivonar went through the list of attacks her mother had taught the Persian. By the time she was done, it was too late to counterattack - there was barely enough time to get out of the way. "Manx!" she shouted. "Agility!"

With a sharp snarl, Manx ran forward, leaping into the air just as the Seaking did the same, barely leaping _over_ the fish as it tried to attack the place he no longer was. He tried twisting around in mid-air, but, without his tail, landed slightly awkwardly on another float. He dug his claws into it, fighting for traction.

"Peck!" Lily snapped.

The Seaking ducked under the float between it and Manx's perch, then leaped out of the water again. It aimed its horn at the Persian, who braced himself.

"Manx!" Ivonar shouted, as the large cat took the brunt of the larger fish's attack in the shoulder. The weight of the Seaking drove the cat backwards; with a loud screech like fingernails on a blackboard, Manx's claws scraped through the surface of the float until he slid into the water. "_Manx_!"

"Horn Attack!" Lily snapped.

"Get out of there!" Ivonar shouted.

Meanwhile, Manx paddled like crazy as the Seaking came around for another attack. Just before it slammed into him again, though, he grimaced, and dove.

Ivonar grimaced in sympathy. She knew that Manx, though he didn't really _hate_ it, generally avoided water. The one thing he _did_ hate about it was being _under_ water. "Come on, Manx," she whispered. "You gotta get out. You gotta get _out_!"

The Persian paddled quickly, going under another float, the Seaking turning again to resume pursuit. Ivonar frowned; the Seaking, while having the advantage of being a water Pokémon, had a problem stopping its attacks. It put as much force as it could behind them, which had cost Manx greatly in the one that had landed. But, when it missed… She grimaced as Manx climbed awkwardly onto the float; through his soaked fur, she could see that an ugly bruise was already forming where the Seaking had rammed him. There was only one real chance the Persian had; the enemy outweighed, outsized, and simply out-classed him.

The one thing it didn't do was out-_turn_ him.

"Manx!" she snapped. "Keep up the Agility!"

The Persian snorted in reply, his eyes focused on the oncoming Seaking.

"Tackle!" Lily yelled.

"Agility!" Ivonar shouted again.

The Seaking leaped out of the water.

In a perfect mirror of Poe's earlier move, Manx dropped to the float, his stomach smacking it as he landed hard. The Seaking sailed above him.

"Up again!" Ivonar yelled. "Fury Swipes! _Now_!"

Manx leaped to his feet, wheeling around. He stood, crouching on his hind legs, slashing the Seaking's underside repeatedly with his front claws fully bared. He added a sharp bite to its tail for good measure, ripping a good chunk out of the fin.

Surprised by the attack, the Seaking tried turning in mid-air, but simply ended up flopping back into the water on its side.

Energized by his successful counterattack, Manx grabbed the Seaking by its wrecked fin, digging his claws into its tail before it could swim away, and hauled it back onto the float. He dug his back claws into the float, using his front claws to pull the struggling fish backwards. He grinned viciously as, at last, the huge fish was hauled completely onto the float. He bared his teeth, his ears laid back, as he sunk his claws into the Seaking just behind its gills, then, opening his mouth wide, lunged downward-

"_MANX_!" Ivonar screamed, horrified. He jerked in surprise, his ears rotating forward again. He looked over his bruised shoulder at her. "Don't _eat_ it!"

A little startled, he looked down at his opponent. The Seaking stared back, shivering. Manx grunted, half confused, half disappointed, and let it go. The Seaking didn't move except to shake with fear.

"That was a bit harsh," Lily rebuked Manx, recalling her Pokémon.

He rotated his ears slightly backwards in acknowledgement, then slipped into the water, letting its coolness soothe his sore shoulder. He paddled around several floats, then climbed onto the one where Ivonar stood, staring at him. He shook off, spraying her, but his equally wet trainer barely noticed. She was too busy being a little numb.

"You _listened_ to me," she murmured, crouching down. He sat down and licked at his right forepaw, ignoring the pain in his shoulder, and pretended to ignore her, too. "You _never_ listen to me." He glanced at her, his gaze shooting invisible daggers, then returned his attention to his paw. "Wait… this is about before, isn't it? Manx, you _know_ I didn't mean it." His glare was longer this time, even more deadly. Its deadliness turned to surprise as she wrapped her arms around him tightly. "You did great, Manx. Just don't get carried away next time." He grunted in reply, shoving her away with his raised paw. She grinned at his tolerant scowl, then stood up. Together they jumped off the side of the float and swam to the side of the pool. Once out, Manx shook off again. Ivonar grinned as she shielded her face. She wrung out her hair as she approached the bleachers, and Manx went to check on the Eevees. "Your turn," she told Remmy.

His expression was unreadable, until she was standing right next to him. Then he smiled, just faintly, and, unfolding his arms, held out one hand, palm up.

Ivonar looked at it blankly for a moment, then, grinning, slapped him five. "Tag," she said. "Your turn." She kicked off her drenched sneakers, and, tying the laces together, tossed them over the railing of the bleachers to let them dry. She slipped her socks off, too, and put them over the railing as well.

Remmy chuckled as he headed for the pool. He looked at the nearest floats, frowned a little, then bent down to untie his sneakers. He kicked one off, slipped off his sock, and shoved it in his sneaker, then did the same for the other foot. He pulled off his shirt, putting it on top of his sneakers.

"What are you _doing_?" Ivonar demanded.

Remmy looked over his shoulder at her, and grinned. "Unlike you," he replied, pulling slightly on the leg of his "shorts", "_I_ remembered my bathing suit." Ivonar stuck her tongue out at him as he jumped into the pool. He climbed onto the nearest float, then felt in his pockets. His frown returned as he pulled three pokéballs out of one pocket, but only one out of the other.

With a splash, a white form leaped out of the water, onto the float with him. He looked at it in surprise.

The Seel grinned at him, then opened its mouth. It held two pokéballs gingerly between its teeth.

Remmy grinned. "Thanks," he told the Pokémon, taking the pokéballs. The Seel barked in reply, then slipped into the water again. He held the pokéballs in his hands, three in one, three in the other.

Violet stepped forward. "I want to go first this time," she said, "and the Pokémon I choose is… Squirtle!" She threw out another pokéball.

Remmy's frown returned. "Drake," he said simply. One of the pokéballs in his left hand opened on its own, letting the long Dratini out. It looked around the pool, its eyes lighting up, then saw the Squirtle, and frowned in a startling resemblance to its trainer. Remmy put the pokéballs back into his pockets.

"Squirtle!" Violet ordered. "Water Gun!"

"Drake, into the water!" Remmy snapped. Drake slipped into the water, ignoring the attack that missed him completely.

"After it!"

Obediently, the Squirtle dove into the water. The two Pokémon swam toward each other warily. When they were nearly upon each other, the Pokémon trainers shouted out orders at the same time.

"Whirlpool!"

"Bind!"

Both Pokémon lunged at each other, crashing into one another. This was good for the Squirtle, as that had been its intention, but not for Drake, who was a bit stunned. The Squirtle grabbed Drake around the middle and swam in tight circles, creating a slight whirlpool, as it tried getting the Dratini dizzy and disoriented.

"Drake!" Remmy shouted. "Leer!"

"Squirtle, Withdraw!" Violet barked.

Drake forced itself to look at the Squirtle, its eyes glowing a harsh blue, but the Squirtle ducked its head into its shell. Unable to see, it slowed its spinning attack. Drake took advantage of this blindness to re-aim its head, and sank its small but spine-sharp teeth into the Squirtle's arm. The Squirtle's head popped out of its shell in surprise; with a cry swallowed by the water, it let go.

"_Wrap it_!" Remmy shouted, leaning forward.

Drake wound quickly around the Squirtle, and squeezed its coils tight.

"Withdraw!" Violet shouted.

The Squirtle pulled its arms and legs, as well as its head, into its shell, taking refuge in its strength. Drake squeezed at the shell, but it refused to give.

Remmy grimaced a little, then shouted, "Try Whirlpool!"

Drake considered for a moment. When the Squirtle had been told to use Whirlpool, it had grabbed it, and spun around a lot. Drake already had hold of the Squirtle… Drake began swimming in tight circles, faster and faster, keeping a tight grip on the Squirtle's shell. The water above them started to whirl, just a little at first, then more and more, until there was a definite funnel formed going down to the battling Pokémon. When Drake found the attack starting to backfire - when it started to get _itself_ dizzy - it snapped itself straight, leaving only one coil around the Squirtle's shell, and shot upward, out of the funnel, to land on one of the floats that had been pulled toward the whirlpool. As it landed, it slammed the Squirtle's shell into the float. Panting a little, Drake let go of the shell, and waited to see what would happen. As an afterthought, it nudged the shell, flipping it onto its back.

Slowly, the Squirtle emerged. It groaned, waving its arms weakly in a half-hearted attempt to flip over. It knew it was on its back, but it was so dizzy, it had no idea which way it wanted to go in order to stand up.

"Your Dratini is as smart as it is beautiful," Violet called across the pool as she recalled the confused Squirtle. "It learns quickly." Drake trilled at the compliment, but Remmy didn't appear to notice it.

Lily jumped forward. "Dibs!" she cried cheerfully. "Since Vapor can't fight and Seadra's out cold, I'm going to use my Goldeen!" Again, the pokéball landed in the water before its occupant came out. The golden fish dove under the water.

Drake watched the fish silently from where it was perched on the float, its expression best described as being grumpy. It had had more than its fair share of experience with Goldeens, after the time it had spent in the river; it knew _quite_ well what to do with it. Remmy relaxed on his float, trusting that his Pokémon wasn't being overconfident.

"Goldeen, Horn Attack!" Lily cried.

The Goldeen launched out of the water, straight at Drake.

Remmy remained impassive.

Drake looked almost bored as it watched the Goldeen sail through the air. With almost careless ease, it lifted the lower two-thirds of its body and twisted, using a well-aimed Tail Whip to knock the Goldeen sideways. Fluffball jumped aside as the Goldeen bounced off the foot of the bleachers, where she had just been standing. The Goldeen flopped helplessly on the tile floor, unable to move itself enough to get back to the pool any time soon.

Lily pouted. "I know, I know," she muttered as she recalled her Pokémon. "I _really_ have to train my Goldeen more often. I hope that landing didn't bruise it too badly. Your turn, Daisy."

"Yep." Daisy stepped forward, pokéball in her hand. "Okay, last round! I choose… Cloyster!" She dropped the pokéball over the side of the float, allowing the heavily armored Pokémon to come into being in the water.

Remmy frowned; the Cloyster was too wide for Drake to Wrap or Bind it; Drake wasn't long enough to go all the way around. Physical attacks would probably do little on the Cloyster's hard shell. There had to be another way…

"Cloyster!" Daisy snapped. "Missile Attack!"

Drake squealed in surprise as several of the protruding spikes on the Cloyster's heavy shell burst forward, straight toward it. Drake leaped off the float it was on, diving deep into the water, as the Missile Attack completely destroyed the float.

Remmy squinted into the water. Where was Drake? The floating Cloyster was impossible to miss, but the Dratini, as crystalline blue as the water, was no where to be seen.

The Cloyster's eyes narrowed as it shifted from side to side. It, too, had lost track of its opponent. For several long moments, all was quiet. The Cloyster couldn't attack, not knowing where the Dratini was, and Remmy wasn't about to order Drake to do something if it had something of its own in mind.

Suddenly, the Cloyster… jerked. It heaved slightly upward in the water, and its eyes opened wide. Then it sort of chuckled to itself, floating backwards, towards its trainer.

From beneath it, Drake floated slowly upward, out cold.

Remmy shook his head as he recalled his Pokémon. Drake had tried to attack the Cloyster's shell, which he'd already determined wasn't the way to go. He needed to do something to attack the Cloyster itself. He glanced behind him, at Ivonar; Nuisance's psychic attacks would've been pretty handy. He doubted that Psychic Toss was the only one the unusually strong Psyduck knew. Grimacing to himself, he considered the other Pokémon he had. Finally, he spoke. "Fairie?" he called, sounding almost as if he was asking a question.

From his left pocket, a beam of red light arched out, then down. Beside him, a two foot tall Pokémon with black-tipped ears appeared. It looked around, confused. "Clay?" it murmured.

Remmy leaned down, putting his hands on each of the Pokémon's narrow shoulders. "Fairie," he said softly, so the other trainers couldn't hear, "you see that big ol' Cloyster over there?" The Clefairy glanced out over the pool, and pouted a little, looking worried. "Don't worry," Remmy assured the Pokémon, who looked back at him, "it won't hurt you." He grinned. "It thinks you're cute." The Clefairy's eyes widened in surprise, and she took a small step backwards. For a moment, her surprised expression became upset, then immediately turned to anger. The small, darker pink markings on her cheeks seemed to grow as an angry flush came over her, and she glared murderously at the Cloyster. Remmy's grin became teasing. "Aren't you going to thank it?"

"Fair-_ee_!" Fairie snapped, shoving his hands away. She leaped to the next float, her little fists clenched.

"Cloyster!" Daisy shouted, now sure that her cousin was back into the battle, "Missile Attack!"

More of the spines shot from the Cloyster's shell, but Fairie didn't even flinch. She simply continued toward the Cloyster, jumping from float to float as other floats exploded around her. Amazingly, the Clefairy was still absolutely dry by the time she came face-to-face with the Cloyster - or face-to-shell, anyway. Several feet of shell filled the space between where she perched on a small piece of float, and the actual body of the Cloyster.

Dumbly, the Cloyster stared at the angry Clefairy just before it.

"Cloyster!" Daisy yelled. "Clamp!"

"Fairie, Tackle!" Remmy shouted at the same time.

The Clefairy leaped at the Cloyster. With a heavy crash, the Cloyster's shell snapped shut… 

…with the Clefairy inside.

"No!" Daisy wailed.

Calmly, Remmy sat down on the float he was on, and waited. Across the pool, Daisy nibbled on her fingernails. For awhile, it was silent. After that while, the only thing to be heard from the floating shell was a muffled sound, oddly sweet but unrecognizable. The three sisters, closest to the closed Cloyster, yawned several times, suddenly feeling groggy; Remmy and Ivonar, as well as Manx and the Eevees, being on the other side of the gym, felt nothing.

Ten minutes later, Daisy rolled her eyes. "You know, Joey," she said, giggling, "I can't recall my Cloyster until your Clefairy gets out of it."

"I know," he replied.

"But I think it's safe to give him and Ivonar the Cascade Badges now, right?" she asked her sisters. The other two nodded. Daisy reached into her pocket, and stamped her foot on the float. Immediately, the Seel leaped onto their float. Daisy held out her hand, feeding it something, then rubbed it on the head before it jumped back into the water. A moment later, it leaped onto Remmy's float again, and stuck out its tongue. On its tongue rested two blue pins, shaped like water droplets.

"Sill!" the Seel barked, its call odd from trying to keep its tongue still.

Remmy grinned as he took the two badges. "I'll trade my badge for Fairie back," he told the Seel teasingly.

It barked again, grinning, and slipped into the water. It maneuvered around the few remaining floats to the still closed Cloyster shell. With a bark, it placed the hard horn on its head to the crack in the shell, and shoved with all its might.

With a squeal not unlike a door with rusty hinges, the Cloyster's shell opened, just a crack. The Seel shoved at the shell again, and the shell opened a little more. A small pink arm emerged from the opening, then another. The Seel shoved a third time; with a startled squeal, the owner of the pink arms tumbled out of the shell, bounced off a piece of float with a surprised squeak, and plunged into the pool. Within, the Cloyster, its face reddened from several Double Slaps, snored softly, fast asleep.

"I thought only Jigglypuffs and Wigglytuffs could Sing," Violet said, frowning a little.

Overhearing, Ivonar shook her head. "Clefairies can, too," she disagreed. "Says so in the Pokédex."

"Or maybe she just used Metronome," Lily suggested, "and that's how it turned out."

"Or a Hypnosis attack," Daisy added.

Remmy shrugged a little, then dove into the pool after his Pokémon. Fairie wasn't drowning, but she wasn't making any attempt to swim, either. She was simply floating, looking a little stunned to find herself all wet.

Ivonar grinned. Picking up Static, she ran forward and leaped into the pool feet first. Static's happy squeal was cut short as they went under together.

Lily giggled. "Looks like fun," she said - then ran forward, shoving Daisy into the pool.

"Hey!" was all Daisy managed to say before she went under. She came back up, sputtering and giggling. "What was _that_ about?"

Violet grinned. "What's with you, sis?" she demanded, turning on Lily. They both burst out giggling as they tried to shove each other off the float, but in the end Vapor jumped on her trainer's back, knocking them _both_ off in the process, leaving only the Vaporeon high and dry.

Near the bleachers, Manx just shook his head. He growled half-heartedly at Chia as she came to see if he was okay, letting her know he had no interest in sympathy. Fluffball cringed away from him as he shook off again. He glanced at her; she glared angrily at him. With a quick lunge he grabbed her by the scruff, keeping hold no matter how much she squirmed. He walked right to the side of the pool and dropped her in. She came up sputtering, and glared at him again; ignoring it, he pulled her out and began licking the water off her drenched fur. Sweetie came over to help, but before she could even stick out her tongue, she was tackled from the side and knocked in the water. She fell in with a squeal, coming up spitting out water, and gave her black tail tipped brother a nasty bite on the ear to show him how she felt about his sneak attack. He yelped, cringing, then dunked her under and swam away quickly, giggling.

Sweetie surfaced, spitting water out again, but this time she didn't mean to come up so quickly. She looked in surprise at her drenched trainer, and purred out a "thank you" as Ivonar put her back on the edge of the pool. "Get back here, Cole!" Ivonar shouted, swimming away again, doing her best for speed in spite of her drenched jeans.

*

"That was fun," Violet said, as they sat together by the pool later, after they had made a trip to the Pokécenter. "And it was _great_ to see Little Joey again." She gave Remmy a squeeze around the shoulders. "We don't see _nearly_ enough of you."

"Really!" Lily agreed. "Like, we haven't seen your brother or sister at _all_. That _shouldn't_ be! I mean, Pallet Town isn't _Lavender_ Town. It's so nearby, and stuff."

"Ex_act_ly," Daisy said firmly. "Next time you get home, Little Joey, you _have_ to get your parents to bring your brother and sister - _and_ you and Ivonar - back here. Okay?"

Remmy smiled thinly. "Only if you can promise Misty'll be here."

Daisy rolled her eyes. "As _if_."

Lily giggled. "We can't promise anything for Misty any more than we can make it rain." She gave Vapor's head a gentle rub. Static loped in circles around the Vaporeon, grinning happily.

"No offense or anything," Violet said, "but _why_ are you so upset about missing Misty? I mean, she nearly killed you last time."

Remmy frowned. "She did not."

"Oh, really?" Ivonar asked politely, though she didn't address anyone in particular. She just wanted a little more detail.

She got it. "She got mad when her Horsea turned out to like Joey better than it liked her," Lily giggled.

Remmy shrugged a little. "Pokémon like me," he said. "I can't help it. It's not like I do anything on purpose."

"Clee!" Fairie giggled. She was perched on Remmy's shoulder. She was a little too big; she had to hug Remmy's head to keep from falling off. It almost looked like Remmy was wearing a pink halo around his forehead.

"Vee!" Sweetie agreed from Ivonar's shoulder. She sat down, wrapping her tail around the back of her trainer's neck to help keep her balance.

Ivonar smiled. "Y'know, I've decided not to let Gary's getting ahead of us get to me," she told the others. "I mean, you're right, Remmy. He's got a car. He's missing out on a lot, driving around. I mean, how is he going to catch wild Pokémon with the motor scaring all the Pokémon away?"

"Good point," Remmy agreed.

"Besides," Ivonar continued, grinning, "Ash is still behind us, isn't he?"

"Ash?" Violet echoed.

"Yeah." Ivonar smiled wickedly. "As long as we stay ahead of him, I think everything should be fine. I mean, he started out on foot, while we got _how_ far on bikes? No way he's going to catch up to us."

The sisters traded a worried look. "Who's Ash?" Daisy asked.

Ivonar shrugged. "The slowpoke of Pallet Town." Remmy coughed politely. Ivonar turned a little red. "There's four trainers out of Pallet Town this year," she corrected herself. "Gary ahead of us, because he's got somebody to drive him around. Then there's us, and behind us is another kid, Ash."

The sisters traded another look. "I hope he doesn't get here anytime soon," Lily said, frowning. She stroked Vapor's head nervously. "I mean, we're out of Pokémon!"

Daisy shrugged a little. "We'll figure something out," she assured her sisters.

Violet nodded. "You're right. I mean, it's just, like, a _badge_, right?"

"If he's even half as good as the other trainers from Pallet have been this year," Daisy said, winking at Remmy and Ivonar, "he'd've won the badge anyway."

Ivonar frowned. "You're not just going to _give_ him the badge, are you?" she demanded. She thought about Poe's sprained wrist from punching the Staryu, and Manx's bruised shoulder, and Drake's concussion. After all _their_ Pokémon had been through, how could they consider just _giving_ someone else the badge?

Violet shrugged. "Don't worry about it," she told her. "Like Daisy said, we'll figure _something_ out."

"Hey, Remmy," Ivonar said. He looked at her curiously. "You're the half of us that can read the map. What's the next closest gym?"

Remmy reached for his pocket, but Daisy waved her hand, shaking her head. "No, wait… wait… let me think… um…" She bit her lip. "There's the Vermilion Gym, and the Saffron Gym - both are south of here. But I think Route Five is closed, so you'd have to go to Vermilion Gym first. And there's that other gym… what was it again?"

"There's Haven Town, right near Viridian," Violet said. "But you'd have to go back through Mount Moon, and besides, I don't think it even has a gym - just a Pokémon Tower."

"Are you thinking about Haven Town, or Lavender Town?" Lily asked her.

"I think both of them have Pokémon Towers, but Lavender's is haunted," Violet replied. Lily shrugged.

"No, I don't mean Haven Town," Daisy said, shaking her head. She snapped her fingers. "Periwinkle City! That's what I was trying to think of. That's not too far away, either."

"Periwinkle?" Lily wrinkled her nose a little. "I'd stay away from there. It is _so_ nasty."

"Nasty?" Ivonar echoed.

"Not _only_ does the Periwinkle Gym leader, Zan, use only Ghost and Poison Pokémon," Lily continued, "but the whole place is, like, a toxic _dump_."

"Periwinkle City was really nice, when it was just a town," Daisy told them, "but that was before either of you were born. They discovered oil under it, and all the drilling polluted the place. Disgusting."

"What about Vermilion?" Remmy asked.

"Vermilion's Gym leader is really tough," Violet said. "But I don't think we should say anymore than that. Unlike Zan's gym, Vermilion's gym is well-run and… well…"

"Vermilion's gym leader doesn't have many Pokémon, so we shouldn't give any more away," Daisy finished for her. "I really think you guys should head for Vermilion. Zan's probably easier to beat than the Vermilion Gym leader, but Periwinkle City is just _not_ healthy."

"Since you're _asking_, though," Lily spoke up, "I _really_ think you guys should get to Opalian City sometime. It's is _so_ beautiful there, and the gym is absolutely awesome."

"The whole city is built out of prismatic glass," Daisy told them. "It's like one big rainbow. It is _so_ awesome."

"Where's that?" Ivonar asked.

"The opposite end of Route Fifteen as Fuchsia City. You can't miss it," Violet replied. She giggled. "I mean, you can't miss it, because it's so big, but you can't miss it, because it is so absolutely cool, too."

"Er… okay," Ivonar replied. "We'll be sure to get there."

"You _won't_ be sorry," Lily assured her.

Remmy slid backwards, away from the pool, and reached for one of his socks to put it back on. "We'd better get started," he said. "Ivonar's obsessed with keeping ahead of Ash - as you've heard."

"I think I heard something like that." Daisy grinned at Ivonar. "Good luck, Ivonar. Take good care of Little Joey, hear me?"

Ivonar didn't even wait for her to finish. "What, now I got to baby-sit, too? You think training isn't hard enough without _him_ tagging along?" she demanded, standing up. Remmy glared at her; she winked at everyone, grinning. "Gotcha."

"Shuddup," he told her. She gave him a funny look. "Hey, you tell _me_ to shut up. Why can't I tell _you_ to shut up?"

"Because I'm older," she replied firmly.

He sighed, rolling his eyes dramatically. "Okay… Old Lady."

"Why you little-!"

Remmy shoved his second shoe on and jumped to his feet. "Come on, Drake!" he shouted, running from the pool.

The Dratini raised its bandaged head with a curious trill. It had been lounging happily on its back in the water. At its movement, the two other Pokémon with it - one brilliant yellow, one a rubbery dark blue - also sat up.

Ivonar jumped to her feet, too. "Nuisance, Poe, get outta there!" she shouted. "Dry off while I go kill a little pipsqueak!" She raced after him.

The three sisters giggled as the three Pokémon got out of the pool. "She kinda reminds me of Misty, you know?" Violet asked her sisters.

"Put the two of them together, that's who you get," Lily agreed.

Daisy giggled. "I'm with Lily. No way _one_ person could be equal to Misty!"

They continued to laugh for awhile. The Pokémon left after their trainers. Finally, Lily managed to keep a straight enough face to ask, "What _about_ that other trainer, though?"

Daisy shrugged. "Don't worry about it. I'm sure that little problem will work itself out. Besides, we have a show to do in a couple hours."

*

Once they had calmed down and gotten their Pokémon sorted out, and after a quick shopping spree to replenish their supplies, Ivonar and Remmy started on their way once more, Sweetie on Ivonar's pack, Static on Remmy's, simply because Static wanted to. They had a little bit of a problem when Ivonar's pack proved wider than the door she tried to use to leave the gym, but Remmy quickly opened the one beside it.

Just before Ivonar could thank him, someone shoved rudely passed them. The only features Ivonar caught were the person's deadly scowl, and their hair, which was a couple shades brighter and at least one shade more orange than Remmy's own rust-colored hair. "Out of my way!" the person shouted impatiently over their shoulder.

"What was _that_ about?" Ivonar demanded of no one, considering the person had long disappeared into the gym.

Remmy shrugged, turning back toward the road. Wordlessly, he started south. Chia, Cole on her shoulders once more, was right beside him.

Ivonar stood scowling in the doorway a moment more, as if to dare the rude person to return, when she felt a sharp nudge against her leg. She sighed, reaching down without looking, to rub Manx's head. "Yeah, yeah, I'm coming." She hurried after Remmy, Manx at her heels, Fluffball at his. "Hey, Remmy, wait up!"

Remmy glanced over his shoulder - and grinned. "What - you're not in a _hurry_, are you? Because-"

"Oh no you don't!" she shouted, sprinting to catch up. She scowled at his grin as they turned down the main street.

*

Interestingly enough, if Ivonar _hadn't_ sprinted ahead, she might have seen a couple of boys heading toward the gym, both familiar - one, older than she, with short brown hair; the other younger, with a red baseball cap over his black hair…


	7. Default Chapter Title

**__**

A Pallet Pair #7:

The Abra Incident

__

A great deal of thanks to Cara W. and Jeff A., for their help in the writing of this Pallet Pair. Without them, it would have looked much, much different.

Route Five proved to be closed, as Daisy had thought, because a large section of it was being re-paved. Ivonar and Remmy, along with Manx, Chia, the Eevees, and all their other Pokémon, were forced to take a wide detour, and headed east down Route Nine.

Two days after leaving Cerulean City, Ivonar suddenly frowned. "Hang on," she told Remmy as she knelt on one knee, her left foot ahead of her. She began to untie her shoelaces. Sweetie jumped off her pack. "I think I have a rock in my shoe."

"Okay." Remmy shifted his backpack higher onto his shoulders. Drake trilled softly in its sleep, stirred by the movement. "How much farther do you think we have to go until we get to the rock tunnel to Lavender Town?"

"A few days," Ivonar replied. "Why are you asking me? _You're_ the one who can read the map."

Remmy frowned a little. "This map makes Route Nine look like a straight line from Cerulean to the Tunnel. The only thing that breaks the monotony is the turn-off to Route Nine-A."

"Nine-_A_?" Ivonar echoed. She flopped backwards, sitting down to pull off her shoe. She turned it upside-down and began hitting the back of it. "What's on Route Nine-_A_?"

"It's a dead-end," he replied. "Stops at 'Tier Canyon.'" He frowned. "That's funny."

"What is?"

"Wait - okay, I get it now." Remmy sat down beside her, holding the map out so they both could look. Ivonar put her shoe in her lap, giving Remmy her full attention. Chia stood behind them, looking curiously over their shoulders. "It's here," he said, pointing to a place about a quarter of the way down Route Nine from Cerulean City. It showed a short road headed south. "At my guess, we're maybe an hour from it." Ivonar nodded. "It goes down this way…" he continued, tracing his finger along the dull green line, "…and ends here." His finger rested in a yellow area, vaguely diamond-shaped with a small triangle attached to the upper-right side. "That's Tier Canyon. But look at this." He pointed to the left of the "canyon," where a town name was written in thin red italics.

Ivonar squinted at the map, her shoe momentarily forgotten. Static tried climbing in her lap, but she didn't let him. Instead, she rubbed his head distractedly. "'Periwin'?" she read aloud. "What's 'Periwin'?"

"That's what I thought was funny, but look." Remmy pointed to the other side of the canyon. "'kle City,'" he read aloud, pointing to the writing.

Ivonar frowned. "I don't get it."

Remmy grinned. "Whoever made this map has a sense of humor," he told her. "Read both of those places' names together."

"Periwin…kle- Periwinkle City!" Ivonar cried. Then she frowned. "Why'd they do that?"

Remmy shrugged. "Maybe the city is built around the canyon," he suggested. "If it's built on both sides of the canyon, that _does_ make sense… but you have to think about it."

"I hate thinking sometimes," Ivonar grumbled. She gave Static's head one last rub, then started to put her shoe back on. Remmy leaned forward, getting on his hands and knees to make it easier to stand up. Drake fell off his pack as he leaned forward; it squeaked as it hit the ground, then gave him an annoyed glare before returning to its pokéball for a more restful nap. Once Remmy was up he started folding the map.

"Er… Remmy?"

He took a moment to finish with the map, then looked down at Ivonar as he shoved it back into his pocket. "Yeah?"

"How about a hand up?" She reached up. "I'm stuck. Stupid backpack." Chia giggled at her. Sweetie jumped back onto the pack just before Remmy helped Ivonar back up. Ivonar brushed off the back of her jeans as she started walking again. "So, are we going to Periwinkle City? It's what, a couple days out of the way?" She frowned again. "Bad enough we're stuck going the _long_ way to Saffron. Can't we make it a little more worthwhile?"

Remmy sighed. "We don't really have anything that can fight ghost Pokémon, do we?" he asked her seriously. "I mean, I know Saurus has a resistance to poison attacks, but…"

"Special attacks don't do much against ghost Pokémon," Ivonar retorted, "but normal ones do, if you can catch the ghost while it's solid."

"That's the trick, isn't it?" Remmy frowned.

"Hey, Fairie'd probably be great against ghost Pokémon," Ivonar said, brightening. "I mean, she can Sing. Put them to sleep, then Double Slap them so they don't have a _chance_ of waking up!"

Remmy rolled his eyes a little. "Okay…" he said slowly, "… but what about _you_?"

"Huh?"

"I could use Saurus and Fairie. What could _you_ use?" He held out one hand ahead of him, ticking off her Pokémon on his fingers. "Char, Nuisance, Manx, Poe, Ro, The Kakuna. Char, Manx, Poe, and Ro have _no_ advantages at all."

"_Or_ disadvantages," Ivonar insisted.

"Nuisance's psychic abilities would have to be _pretty_ strong to affect ghost Pokémon-" Remmy continued.

"-which they are-" Ivonar interjected.

"- and The Kakuna has a weakness to poison attacks."

"Sheesh." Ivonar blew her bangs off her forehead for a moment. "You're as studied on strengths and weaknesses as _I_ am."

Remmy sighed. "My parents were both trainers," he replied. "That's why they were so set on _me_ being one."

"Really?" Ivonar was surprised. "About the closest _my_ parents were to being trainers was that my mom trained Manx by bringing him to Professor Oak twice a week. That was it."

"She brought him to Professor Oak?"

Ivonar nodded. "On Tuesdays and Saturdays, she'd bring him to Professor Oak to challenge the Pokémon that Professor Oak was taking care of for trainers who sent them to him. There were always a few that were restless and felt like battling, to hone their skills. That's how Manx got so much experience without my mom really training."

Remmy nodded. "My parents were training when they were my age. That was how they met. I've always had Pokémon in my life, you know? Especially with my dad. He's been petitioning for years for a gym to be built back home, but the League thinks Pallet Town is too small and too close to Viridian City."

"It's not _that_ close to Viridian -- _how_ many days did it take us to bike there?"

"One."

"Exactly. How can that be 'too close'? Periwinkle City has to be closer to Cerulean City than Pallet Town is to Viridian City."

"I'm not sure. I think it's about twice the distance."

"That's not really saying much."

Remmy sighed. "Maybe _that's_ why you wanted to train so much more than I did."

Ivonar gave him a curious look. "What do you mean?"

Remmy looked up at the sky. Heavy, cottonball clouds floated leisurely from horizon to horizon. "Ever since I can remember, my life has revolved around Pokémon. My parents met at the Pokémon League games fifteen years ago. At home, we have a greenhouse full of my parents' grass Pokémon. You had two Pokémon at home. Me?" He paused for a moment. "In the greenhouse alone, we had two Vileplumes, a Gloom, five Oddish, four Bellsprouts, two Weepinbells, Mom's Victreebel, eight Exeggcute, and four Magikarp and Dad's Seadra in the pond."

Ivonar whistled softly. "Yikes."

Remmy nodded. "The only Pokémon allowed in the house are my mom's Growlithe, Fireburst, and my dad's Caterpie, Stu." Remmy chuckled a little. "Stu's allowed in the house because he never leaves Dad's shoulder."

Ivonar giggled. "Stu?"

"Short for 'stubborn'." Remmy chuckled again. "Stu has to be the oldest Caterpie alive. He utterly refuses to evolve." He sighed again, looking disturbed. "All my life, I've been literally _surrounded_ by Pokémon. None of them battle anymore -- most of them are twenty years old, at least. I guess that's why I don't like the idea of battling Pokémon much. When you grow up in a Pokémon retirement home, it's hard to get used to the idea of them beating each other up."

Ivonar frowned a little. "We got Manx about four years ago. He was a couple months old, at the most. Barely old enough to be away from his mother, who we never found." She rubbed the Persian's head as she walked. Manx lay his ears back, frowning sharply, but his pained expression had nothing to do with her touch. "And Toby gave me Nuisance last year. We think he was hiding him in his room for maybe a week. I think… I'm not _sure_, but I _think_, a _long_ time ago, we had a Growlithe, or something. I vaguely remember us having something that used to lick my face a lot." She shrugged a little. "Or maybe it belonged to one of my relatives. I was really little -- I don't remember it clearly." She paused. "That's… it." She twisted, reaching into one of the outside pockets of her pack. "Here…" She pulled out her wallet. Opening it, she pulled out the clear credit card holder. Instead of credit cards, she had pocket-size photos in them. She showed Remmy the first one -- a portrait of her family, done in a very professional manner. Her father stood in the back on the left, while her mother sat near the middle. Manx sat proudly between Mrs. Marain and a standing, bored-looking Toby in a tie. Sitting on the other side of Mrs. Marain, Ivonar sat with Nuisance in her lap, both of them looking somewhat glum. Ivonar had her hair tied back formally, and her left leg in a cast.

Ivonar grimaced a little. "Ever since my tenth birthday, my mom insisted we get professional pictures done of the family so she'd 'have something to look at while I was gone.' This is last year's. This year's hadn't come in the mail yet." She wrinkled her nose for a moment, then flipped to the next picture, before continuing. "And this is from two years ago." The picture was mostly the same, except that a younger Ivonar, her hair in a ponytail and her nose puffy and red, stood behind Mrs. Marain, and Nuisance wasn't there. "_Before_ I turned ten," Ivonar continued, "we got the pictures anyway. Pokémon training just gave my mom an excuse besides, 'because I say so.'" She turned to the next picture: now, it was as if Manx had disappeared. Instead, a grumpy-looking, tailless Meowth sat in Mrs. Marain's lap. Ivonar giggled as she turned to the next picture. "And the year before that. Look at Manx." Remmy looked; yet again, everyone was in the same position. Toby, being four, actually looked happy to be dressed up, and Ivonar's hair was too short to pull back. Mrs. Marain had a strained smile on her face, and a smaller, scowling Meowth hugged to her chest. It was quite obvious that the Meowth had been struggling violently when the picture was taken. By squinting, Remmy saw that the Meowth's back end was bandaged. It was hard to tell at a glance, because the paleness of the Meowth's fur made the white bandages hard to see. "That was soon after we got Manx," Ivonar explained. "His tail -- or where it had been, anyway -- hadn't healed yet." She bit her lip as she turned to the last picture in the case. "And this is the earliest one I carry." Now, instead of a squirming Meowth, Mrs. Marain was holding an obviously equally-squirming three-year-old boy in her lap. Seven-year-old Ivonar was held in her father's arms, looking half-asleep.

Remmy took the case from Ivonar, and flipped back to the first, most recent, picture. "Your hair looks nice back like that."

"You kidding?" Ivonar rolled her eyes. "It hurt like crazy. It was pulled back _way_ too tight."

Remmy grinned as he handed the pictures back. "You sure it was your hair that hurt, or your leg?"

Ivonar chuckled as she put the pictures away and put her wallet back into the pocket in her pack. "I was pretty sure all of me was hurting. Remember, I broke my leg falling down stairs. I was pretty banged up." She tapped her right temple. "I had a beauty of a bruise right here. You couldn't see it in the picture because the photographer had me hold my head at a funny angle so it didn't show. That's what hurt the most -- where it pulled there. My leg was pretty numb that day, actually." Remmy nodded. Suddenly, Ivonar frowned. "Hey, what's that?"

Remmy looked at her for a moment, confused, then realized she wasn't looking at him like he'd thought -- she was looking _passed_ him. He turned to look, too. Something the color of clay was just visible beneath a bush. "I don't know," he replied. "Looks kind of like a foot."

"Let's check," Ivonar said eagerly, slipping her pack off. Manx grunted, rolling his ears slightly back; he wasn't keen on the idea of checking out something unidentifiable. He put a firm paw in front of Fluffball, keeping her from approaching the mostly-hidden creature. He snorted softly, warning her and her equally curious brothers to remain where they were, then, crouching low, followed his trainer. Remmy and Chia stayed back with the Eevees.

Ivonar crouched down next to the bush, just as the clay-colored thing pulled quickly into the bush, out of sight. Frowning a little, she pushed several branches aside, and gasped.

It was small, completely clay in color. It had ridges down its back, and a short tail. Its head had two, very short horns on the back.

She couldn't see its eyes or face, because it was too busy ramming itself repeatedly into the trunk of the bush.

"Hey!" she muttered, grabbing it around the waist. "Stop that!" She dragged the creature backwards, out of the bush.

"Q!" it yelled, kicking and waving its arms and tail. "Q! Q! Q!"

Ivonar sat back on her heels, resting the small creature on her knee. She frowned. "Remmy…?" she called softly, her frown deepening. "Could you come here?"

"Q!" the creature continued to yell, its long eyes squeezed shut as it continued to wave its arms, legs, and tail, as if to fight off something ahead of it.

Remmy came over, and crouched down. He frowned, too. "What _is_ it?"

"I was hoping _you'd_ know!" Ivonar grimaced as one flailing arm hit her in the back of the wrist. "You have your Pokédex? Mine's buried in my pack somewhere."

"Hang on, I'll get it." He hurried back to his pack, getting the small device, then brought it back. He opened it, pointing the scanning eye toward the creature.

A perfect still-shot of Ivonar's hands and the flailing creature appeared on the screen. "_This Pokémon is of an unknown type. No matches found_," the machine chimed.

Ivonar and Remmy traded surprised looks. Remmy looked down at the Pokédex. "Any suggestions?" he asked it.

There was a pause, and the picture changed. It showed a clay-colored creature with a skull completely hiding its head. "_Unknown Pokémon bears some resemblance to Cubone, the Lonely Pokémon_."

"What's the information on Cubone?"

"_Cubone, the Lonely Pokémon. Because it never removes its skull helmet, no one has ever seen this Pokémon's real face_," the Pokédex replied.

"Q!" the Pokémon wailed, still thrashing away. "Q, q-q _q_ q!"

"Do you think it's a Cubone without a helmet?" Ivonar asked him.

She looked astonished, almost scared. He didn't blame her. "Whatever it is, it looks confused out of its mind," he replied. "You're holding it from behind, but it's trying to defend it's front."

"It looks like it's frightened of something ahead of it, but how could it?" Ivonar murmured. "It's got its eyes closed!"

"Maybe it got into a fight with a psychic Pokémon," Remmy suggested. "That would explain why it's trying to fight something that isn't there, too."

"Then that psychic Pokémon must still be close!" Ivonar stood up, cradling the Pokémon in her arms, doing her best to ignore when it hit her arms or chest as it continued flailing. Her eyes narrowed dangerously. "How could anything be so mean?"

"Q!" the Pokémon wailed. Its cries were getting softer, farther apart, as if it was drifting to sleep. Its thrashing was slowing. It sounded like it was having trouble breathing. "Q!"

"Wait a minute." Ivonar's scowl deepened even farther. "Wait! It's not trying to defend itself at all!" She fell to her knees, and, putting the crying creature on the ground, held it on its back. She started to shake it. "Hey! Snap out of it!"

"What?" Remmy stared down at her, understandably worried by her actions. "_What_ are you _doing_?"

"Look at it! It's kicking and screaming and having trouble breathing, and if it's a Cubone, it's a ground Pokémon!" She shook it harder, hitting its shoulders against the hard road. "What does a ground Pokémon fear most?"

"…Water?…" Remmy answered slowly, before understanding.

Ivonar nodded. "It thinks it's drowning!" Grimacing heavily, she drew back her hand, slapping the creature across the face. "Snap out of it!" she shouted again. "Come on!"

The creature squealed at the strike, pausing in its thrashing to draw its short arms towards its face. It cringed, drawing its legs towards its chest. It clenched its eyes shut even tighter. But, finally, it stopped thrashing about, and just lay there, cowering.

Ivonar sat back, panting, and rubbed at her throat. It hurt from shouting, which was all she'd been doing since realizing what was wrong. Remmy knelt down, picking the Pokémon up, and held it upright. "I think its okay," he said quietly. "How about you?"

Ivonar scowled, standing up again. "_I'm_ going to see if I can find whoever's responsible for this," she replied, her voice harsh from both emotion and her sore throat. "That is just horrible. Who would do such a thing as make a ground Pokémon think it's drowning? That's… that's like throwing somebody into a tank of sharks! That's like throwing a person into a volcano! That… that is just _not_ forgivable!" She stormed down the road, eyeing the bushes warily for any sign of movement. Manx, his ears laid back against his skull, a silent snarl set on his lips, trod silently beside her. He had the right to be angry with anyone who would take advantage of a weaker Pokémon -- a right earned by the pinched scar hidden by his fur, the only remaining sign he had ever had a tail at all.

They had gone about a hundred feet when Manx stopped short, his ears finding a way to hug his skull even tighter. His nostrils flared, and he glared to the right, his teeth bared. "There?" Ivonar breathed. Manx's reply was to unsheathe his claws. With a deadly scowl of her own, Ivonar headed straight toward where he stared.

Her march for justice was cut short by something appearing in thin air right in front of her. She screamed in surprise, putting her hands out -- and caught something that was pretty heavy. Before she could try to get a good grip on it, it disappeared again, only to reappear right in the same place. She tried to grab it again, but again it disappeared. "Hey, knock it off!" she snapped, as the heavy object continued to appear and disappear a foot ahead of where she stood, too quickly for her to get a good look at it. She tried turning away, but still it appeared just ahead of her. Her anger was building -- what kind of freak played such a cruel trick on a ground Pokémon, then did something so stupid as to do… whatever _this_ was? "Knock…it…_off_!" Ivonar snapped again, slamming her hand forward, her fingers curled back. The heel of her palm connected solidly with the thing she couldn't get a clear look at, knocking it backwards. It squealed even as it somersaulted backwards several feet before coming to a stop, sitting upright and whimpering.

It wasn't overly big -- a little over two feet tall, at Ivonar's guess. It was a yellower color than the odd Pokémon Remmy was holding, with the vaguest of resemblances to it, except that it was more than a foot bigger, and had a brown chest and brown sections on its arms and legs. It whimpered as it looked up at Ivonar, its expression fearful.

"Don't hurt me," someone whispered.

Ivonar jerked in surprise. She looked around, but saw no one. It couldn't have been Remmy; he was too far away for her to hear him whisper, and besides, the voice hadn't sounded anything like his. Manx's attention was completely on the Pokémon sitting in the middle of the road, whimpering fearfully. He bared his teeth even farther, snarling.

The Pokémon squealed again, disappearing -- only to appear right in front of Manx. The Persian leaped backwards in surprise.

Ivonar frowned. She knew quite well what Pokémon sat in the road, shivering with fear as Manx sniffed it suspiciously. It disappeared in what seemed a half-hearted way, only to appear, yet again, right in front of Manx.

Manx growled in annoyance. He was surprised when Ivonar touched him lightly on his back. "I don't think it meant to, Manx," she murmured. She crouched down beside him, reaching slowly toward the Pokémon. It disappeared again, but only for a moment, and Ivonar wasn't at all surprised when it reappeared in the same exact place. "I think our unknown Pokémon is just a side effect," she told the Persian. "I think we found the _real_ victim." She reached out, gripping the Pokémon under its armpits. It disappeared again. Ivonar held still. Sure enough, the Pokémon reappeared in the same place, and her hands were still in the same place. She braced herself, grunting as she picked it up. It was at least as heavy as Nuisance was, and, now that she saw it with its legs beneath it instead of it sitting down, she saw that it was actually a bit taller, closer to three feet in height than two. She paused a moment when the creature disappeared again, waiting for it to return to her arms before she cradled it in the same way Remmy was cradling the unknown Pokémon. Looking down at it, she sang softly, her voice a little off-key:

"Stay, little Abra, don't you fear,

You disappear when danger's near.

But something's wrong, instead you stay:

You go to it, instead of away.

Be calm, little Abra, stay right here,

Because here you have nothing to fear."

The Pokémon continued to tremble, making it a little hard to keep hold of it, but it stopped trying to teleport away. Its whimpering softened. Its eyes closed slowly as she continued to sing.

"You must be confused, you poor little thing,

Now you just rest and let me sing.

I won't hurt you, I promise, I swear,

You are safe, you're in my care.

Now sleep, little Abra, do be good,

You'll get better -- at least, you should."

Ivonar chuckled at the last line, but the Abra seemed to have listened to her -- its eyes were closed, and it wasn't trembling or whimpering anymore. It looked asleep.

Ivonar smiled slightly to herself as she lugged the sleeping Pokémon back toward Remmy. He stood up, the unidentified Pokémon still in his arms. "The problem?" he asked her softly, nodding toward the Pokémon she held.

She nodded. "How's that one?"

"Asleep, I think." Remmy looked down at the creature he held in his arms. It had its head rested against his chest, and was breathing softly. Its cheek was a little reddened where Ivonar had hit it.

Ivonar frowned a little. "I'm not sure why, but this seems to make sense," she murmured. "The Abra got confused, and its powers went a little haywire. It became scared, but when it tried teleporting _away_ from what made it scared, it instead teleported _to_ it." She jerked her head back toward where she had found the Abra. "That was what was going on back there. It sensed that I was angry at it, so it tried to flee -- and instead kept appearing right in front of me. When Manx threatened it, it stopped trying to run from me and instead kept appearing in front of _him_."

"But what about this little guy?" Remmy asked softly. He gestured to the Pokémon he held by moving his arms up slightly. The Pokémon sighed, curling one small arm under its chin, but otherwise didn't respond. "Why did it think it was drowning?"

"And why did it fall asleep when the Abra did?" Ivonar added, looking down at the Pokémon she was holding. Then she blinked rapidly. "When… when did it fall asleep?"

"Just a couple minutes ago." Remmy frowned. "Why?"

"When… the Abra did," Ivonar repeated, but she sounded disturbed.

"What's wrong?"

She regarded him seriously. "How did I know that?" He didn't answer. She frowned, looking down at the Abra again. "When… when I first saw the Abra, I heard somebody say, in the softest whisper, 'Don't hurt me.' And…" She grimaced. "Remmy, I nearly failed my the poetry unit in my English class because I couldn't rhyme for my life."

Remmy frowned. "So?"

"I couldn't rhyme. And I got kicked out of Chorus because I'm monstrously off-key."

Remmy shook his head. "It didn't sound so bad a minute ago. I couldn't hear what you were singing, but it sounded like 'Hush Little Baby.'"

"Um… same tune. I used different words, though." Ivonar bit her lip. "Something just doesn't seem right…"

"Everything's okay now."

Ivonar frowned, looking at Remmy again. "What do you mean?"

He frowned right back at her. "What?"

"What do mean, everything's okay?"

His eyebrows drew downward in confusion. "Did I say everything's okay?"

Ivonar bit her lip again. She glanced to the sides of the road. "Somebody did."

"Wasn't me."

"I swear, somebody said, 'everything's okay now.'"

"Was it the same person who said 'don't hurt me' before?"

"I…" She paused. "I… think…" She frowned; she hadn't really noticed. "Maybe."

Remmy frowned a little more, looking at the Abra for a moment before looking at the creature he was holding. "I think we're closer to Periwinkle City than Cerulean City," he said. "Let's see if we can get these guys to a Pokécenter or something. Maybe there's somebody we can talk to there who will know what _this_ is," he lifted the Pokémon in his arms a little higher again, "…and get that Abra some help."

Ivonar smiled faintly. "Think it'll let me keep it?"

Remmy frowned. "Ivonar, how much do you know about psychic Pokémon?"

She pouted. "I know they have a weakness against ghost Pokémon, and advantages over most anything else -- especially fighting Pokémon." She grinned. "And that Nuisance is pretty strong, as far as psychic Pokémon go."

Remmy's frown deepened. "Nuisance isn't really a psychic Pokémon -- he's a water Pokémon capable of learning psychic attacks, just as a Beedrill is a bug Pokémon capable of learning poison attacks. Primarily psychic Pokémon, like Abras, are among the hardest Pokémon to train, because it takes severe mental discipline."

"What do you mean?"

"When people train psychic Pokémon like Abra or any of its evolutions, a bond is formed between the trainer and the Pokémon -- a _psychic_ bond. Lots of times, it's simply impossible to train them unless the bond is made -- and only the Pokémon can do it, unless the trainer has some psychic abilities of their own."

"In other words," Ivonar translated coldly, "you don't think I can do it."

Remmy sighed. "Not that I can stop you from trying," he added tolerantly.

Ivonar rolled her eyes. "Let's just get going." She looked down at her backpack with despair. "How am I going to carry this guy, _and_ my stuff? He's at _least_ as heavy as Nuisance, and Nuisance weighs forty pounds. There's no way I can carry him that long. He's just too heavy."

Even as Ivonar spoke, the Abra's eyes opened, just slightly. It peered at her silently, then closed its eyes again. It reached up with its arms, wrapping them around Ivonar's neck, then wrapped its legs around her waist, like a child holding its mother.

Ivonar felt a great weight lift from her arms as the Abra hugged itself to her. Letting go, she was surprised to find the Abra firmly attached -- and that now that she _wasn't_ holding it, it seemed to weigh nothing at all. She grinned at Remmy. "What's that about mental discipline?" she asked him. "Looks like he likes me just fine."

Remmy frowned, his expression dark. "Ivonar?"

"Yeah?"

"How do you know it's a he?"

"Huh?"

"A while ago, you stopped calling it 'it' and started calling it 'he.'"

"I did?" She looked at the Abra. He -- yes, she _was_ thinking of it as a 'he,' all of a sudden! -- had his head rested against her shoulder, looking as if he was peacefully asleep. "I… I guess I did." She shrugged a little. "So what?" Leaning down, she gripped one of the straps of her pack, and swung it back onto her back, though she was careful not to crush the Abra's feet beneath it. "You okay carrying that one?"

Remmy nodded. "It doesn't weigh that much -- maybe a couple pounds more than the Eevees." He put it down gently so he could put his own pack back on. It woke up, its eyes fluttering open. It looked around groggily.

"You know," Ivonar said, looking down at it, "it's kind of cute."

"Yeah." Remmy adjusted one of the straps on his pack, and picked up the Pokémon in one hand. In the other, he picked up Sweetie. "Forgetting someone?" he asked Ivonar.

She looked blankly at the Eevee, then smiled. "Of course not." She took Sweetie and held her up so she could climb back on top of her backpack. "We set? Let's go."

*

They started making camp on the side of Route Nine-A soon after dark. They cleared a wide area, then set out their sleeping bags. While Remmy started the fire, Ivonar rummaged through her gear for something they could eat for dinner. The unidentified Pokémon sat beside Remmy, watching intently as he set the sticks in the little hole he'd dug for the fire's ashes to go into. The Abra slept silently in Ivonar's sleeping bag, under the warily watchful eyes of Manx and Chia. The Eevees played a pouncing game, seeing who could catch Chia's gently waving tail most often. Chia didn't even flinch whenever one of them caught her tail, or even when it was playfully nipped.

"That guy sleeps an awful lot," Ivonar joked.

"Abras sleep about eighteen hours a day," Remmy said. He gave the clay-colored Pokémon a pat on the head as he sat back to check his handiwork. Then he took a couple of fork-shaped sticks he'd set aside, dug holes in the dirt with his fingers, and stuck them on either side of the pile of sticks, burying them a little so they stood upright.

"I know. I was kidding." She pulled out a can of soup, and her mess kit. The mess kit was something her mother had given her; it was a small, metal thing that, when closed, looked oddly like a toy flying saucer with a bar across the top. The bar was held on by a screw and a wingnut on each end. If she removed one of the two screws holding the bar in place, the bar could rotate on the other screw to form the handle on a frying pan, while the other half of the "flying saucer" was an upside-down, low-sided bowl. Inside was a set of silverware and a small cup. Ivonar wasn't sure why it was called a "mess kit"-- she just knew it made finding what she was going to eat on, and with, easier. She had to rummage a little more before she found the pot she wanted to cook the soup in. "Um… Remmy, do _you_ have the can opener?"

"Yeah. I'll get it." The fire was going, if barely; he blew softly on it until it looked safe to leave it to catch on its own. He gave the unknown Pokémon another pat as he got up. "You know what's driving me nuts?" he asked Ivonar as he went to his own backpack. "The Pokémon we found today -- and I'm not talking about the Abra. Not knowing what it is. Thinking about it as 'the unknown Pokémon' is giving me a headache."

"Q!" the Pokémon called, smiling slightly. It looked curiously at Ivonar's mess kit. It climbed to its feet to get a closer look. "Q?"

Ivonar smiled at it. She put the pot down, and opened the mess kit.

The Pokémon jerked backwards a little, surprised that the thing opened up, and that it had stuff inside, almost like a nut. Was it a nut? It smelled like metal. It frowned, perplexed. It took hold of the frying pan's handle, lifting it. It waved it around a little. A slow smile came over its face. "Q?" It peered at the screw holding the handle onto the frying pan; with a small, delicate claw, it slowly twisted the screw out. The pan hit the ground with a clatter. The Pokémon leaped backwards, startled, and slashed the air in front of it with the handle it still held. "Q!" It looked suspiciously at the pan, then looked at the handle it held with extreme interest. It swung its arm a little, back and forth, and smiled. "Q!"

Remmy grinned. "Looks like your mess kit's not going to work anymore," he told Ivonar. "I think it likes the handle a bit much."

"Q!" Emboldened by its new toy, the Pokémon looked at the other parts of the mess kit, then dismissed them as uninteresting. It stuck its short snout in the empty pot, then picked it up in its free hand. "Q?"

Ivonar giggled. "Bold little thing, isn't it?"

"Q!" The Pokémon turned the pot over, putting it on its head, letting the handle go under its chin. The sides of the pot fell over its eyes. "Q?!" It waved around blindly. "Q?" Ivonar burst out laughing. The Pokémon pushed the pot back, so that it could see her. It smiled faintly. "Q?"

Ivonar covered her mouth, trying to get a hold of herself. "Looks like we lose the pot, too," she giggled. She picked up her knife, and tapped the dull side first on the Pokémon's right shoulder, then its left. "I dub thee, for lack of a better name, Q!"

The Pokémon thrust the pan handle into the air. "Q!" it cried cheerfully.

Remmy laughed. "Looks like your gift for naming Pokémon pulls through again. Q it is."

Ivonar gave Q a quick tickle under the chin before returning to her pack to find something else to cook the soup in. Q didn't look like it had any intention of taking the pot off of its head any time soon. "I think I'm going to call the Abra 'Con.'"

"Con?"

"Well, your dad has a Caterpie he named Stu, for 'stubborn.' When we found the Abra, he was confused."

Remmy rolled his eyes. "Eevee, don't you remember a certain incident with a certain Poliwhirl? Your ability to name Pokémon isn't foolproof."

"He doesn't mind."

"How do you know? Did you ask him?"

Ivonar was about to retort, when she paused to think. How _did_ she know? How could she be so certain the Abra had no problem with being named Con?

For that matter, how was she so sure the Abra was a 'he'?

Why was she so _sure_?

"R… Remmy?"

"Yeah?"

"Um… about psychic Pokémon. You said… earlier, something about a bond?"

"So?"

"Do you… know… anything about it?"

He came over to her side of the fire, handing her the can opener. He was the one of them who could read the map; _she_ was the one of them who could work the can opener. He sat next to her. "One of the Pokémon my dad caught was a Jynx." He paused. "My house has this one room. It used to be a bedroom, or a study, or something, but now it has shelves. Every wall is covered in shelves, and there's a bunch of bookcases. And covering every one of those shelves and bookcases are pokéballs. Each one is labeled. That's where all the Pokémon my mom and dad caught while they were trainers, other than Fireburst and Stu, are kept, usually. The greenhouse is where they let the grass Pokémon out in sometimes, and the pond is where the water Pokémon get a little bit of swimming done, and the others can get some exercise in the backyard… you get the idea." He frowned a little. "I've only seen my dad's Jynx twice - once when I was four, I think, and once last year. He only lets it out every five years."

"Once every five years?" Ivonar frowned as she used her spoon to flip the lid of the soup can open. "That seems kind of… I don't know, cruel."

"The Jynx doesn't seem to mind." Remmy paused, looking at something only he could see. "Dad said that it's impossible to explain how it feels to be linked to a psychic Pokémon. It's something you have to experience to understand." He paused again. "He said it's like having a second conscience, like some part of yourself is working on its own. Sometimes it's easy to shrug it off as nothing, but sometimes - according to him, anyway - things can seem to be happening twice. People you know can look like complete strangers, or complete strangers can look familiar. You can feel happy, or sad, or angry, and not know why." Ivonar grimaced, biting her lip. "You might do something you used to think was hard without thinking about it, like spell a word you have trouble with-"

"-or rhyme?" she interrupted him. He looked at her, frowning slightly. "Remmy…" She bit her lip, and looked toward her sleeping bag. "I don't understand," she whispered. "The Abra was afraid of me. Why would it try to… to _bond_ with me, if it was afraid?"

Remmy frowned, thinking about it. "Wait." He looked over at Q, who was wielding the pan handle like a sword at Fluffball. She crouched low, ready to pounce the moment she saw an opening. Obviously, Fluffball had gotten tired of the tail game. "The Abra was confused. It was doing things it wouldn't normally do -- like teleport _to_ things it was scared of, instead of away."

"Yeah…"

Remmy's frown turned into a scowl. "What if… what if it tried creating a bond with Q?"

"With Q? Q's a Pokémon, Remmy. Abras don't make bonds with other Pokémon… do they?"

"Do Abras teleport _to_ things they're scared of?"

"Remmy, I'm starting to doubt Q's problem is anything more than a simple case of amnesia." She pointed to it. It was wrestling with Fluffball, the pan handle lying on the ground beside it. Fluffball knocked her head into Q's chin, knocking the pot handle off the Pokémon's chin. The pot slipped off its head. With a frantic urgency, Q pushed Fluffball off of itself, grabbed the pot, and put it back on its head. Then it picked up the pan handle, looking at it oddly, as if it had been certain the handle had once been something else. "I mean, look at it. It has the pot on its head like a skull, and holds the handle the same way a Cubone does a bone. I admit, it seems extremely strange that it wouldn't have its skull on, but…" She frowned. "Maybe, when it thought it was drowning, it took off its skull to try to make itself lighter. I know if I found myself in the middle of a lake or something, I'd kick off my shoes to make my feet lighter."

"Amnesia from _where_?" Remmy shook his head. "Ivonar, no matter how much you insist this makes sense, it _doesn't_. The only thing that makes sense is that the Abra - Con - would teleport to you and Manx because it was confused."

"Con's not the problem," Ivonar said firmly. "It's Q. Nothing about _Q_ makes sense."

"Con _is_ a problem," Remmy disagreed.

"How can you say that?" Ivonar demanded. "What has he done wrong, huh? All he did all day was sleep. Tell me -- what's his crime?"

Remmy frowned. "Ivonar," he said seriously, "I want to drop the subject-"

"No!" she snapped, glaring at him. "What do you have against Con?"

Remmy's frown became an unreadable expression. "Ivonar," he said again, more slowly, "I _am_ going to drop the subject, because I don't want to get in a fight with you. I just want to remind you that training psychic Pokémon takes extreme mental discipline, which you don't have. You'll have to trust me on this, but… for the next few days, whenever you get an urge to do something, think about it first. Please. Promise me that."

"Promise what?" She grinned. "That I'll think before I act?"

"Yes," he replied seriously. "Promise me, Ivonar. And whatever you do, don't break that promise."

She frowned. "Why?"

His own frown returned. "Like I said," he replied vaguely, "you'll have to trust me."

She sighed, pausing for a long moment. Remmy showed no signs of backing off -- he stared right at her, expectantly. "Okay," she said finally. "I promise."

*

Dinner was eaten in silence, after which Remmy immediately got into his sleeping bag. Ivonar double-checked to make sure everything was put away and secure from curious wild Pokémon, before crawling into her own bag.

As usual, Fluffball crawled into the sleeping bag, curling up somewhere by Ivonar's feet, and Static climbed on top of her to sleep on her side. Cole was lying on Chia, who was dozing on Remmy's bag. Manx lay not far away, licking at his right forepaw, while Q sat near him.

Sweetie wailed softly when she found her own usual spot taken.

Ivonar smiled at her sympathetically. "I'm sorry," she apologized. "But don't worry, Sweets. After we bring Con to the Periwinkle City Pokécenter, I think I'm going to set him free. Like Remmy said, training a psychic Pokémon is probably over my head. You can have your spot back in a couple days, okay?" She pulled open the top of the sleeping bag wider. "Why don't you sleep with Fluffball for now?"

Sweetie lay her ears back, whimpering softly, but crawled into the sleeping bag.

Ivonar wrapped her arm around Con's shoulders as she snuggled deeper into her sleeping bag. She heard Nuisance come out of his pokéball, and felt him lie gently on her feet. "'Night, everybody," she murmured, closing her eyes.

*

Late that night, as the moon started to set, Con opened his eyes. Slowly, he looked down toward the bottom of the sleeping bag. His eyes closed a soft red.

For the first time since she was seven, Ivonar kicked in her sleep. Nuisance rolled off, and there was a squeal from the sleeping bag as one of the Eevees was rolled on. Nuisance jumped to his feet, startled. He looked around, confused. Huh? He looked down at his side; for some reason, it hurt nearly as much as his head did. What had just happened? He looked around. Where were they?

Con closed his eyes again, looking asleep.

Sweetie crawled out of the bag, whimpering. She shook out her back leg, looking mournfully at Nuisance.

The Psyduck frowned a little. He clenched his eyes shut for a moment, trying to make the unceasing pain in his head retreat a little so he could think a bit more clearly, then waddled to the head of the sleeping bag and putting a comforting hand on the little Eevee's back. What's wrong? he asked, then looked at his sleeping trainer. He frowned a little. Who is that? 

Sweetie sniffed. Mommy and the other human found it today, she replied quietly.

Manx lifted his head with a yawn. Keep it down, he growled softly, giving Sweetie a strict look. Most of us are trying to sleep. 

Sweetie cringed sheepishly. Sorry, Papa, she murmured softly.

Manx grunted softly, accepting her apology. Then he turned to look at the Psyduck, his stern expression melting into muted surprise. And what anomaly managed to wake _you_ up at this hour? he asked snidely.

Nuisance frowned, looking at the sleeping bag he had, not so long ago, been sleeping on. She… she kicked me off, he answered.

Manx rolled his eyes, then lay his head back down. She does that all the time, he scoffed. Never woke you up before. 

Nuisance regarded the Persian seriously. She's never kicked me that hard before, he replied darkly.

Sweetie sniffed. She went to Manx, sitting down beside him. He raised his head, frowning; she rested her head on his shoulder and sniffed again. I want Mommy to hug me, like she always does, she whimpered.

Manx sighed. Sweetie was the only one of the Eevees who insisted that Ivonar was their mother, same as Cole had stopped considering him a father figure soon after meeting Chia. She can't tonight, he replied, laying his head back down. You can lie with me, he offered.

Sweetie bit her lip softly, looking back at the silent lump that was Ivonar. But I want Mommy to hug me, she murmured, tears stinging her eyes.

Why isn't Ivonar hugging Sweetie? Nuisance asked Manx as firmly as he could. He knew the Persian didn't think much of him. It had seemed like the best way for them to live under the same roof, but now he regretted living under the cat's paw for so long. It was very difficult to get him to take him seriously. He approached slowly. Then he looked at the other form near them with startled surprise. Who are you? 

The stranger regarded him from beneath the pot it wore on its head. Well, these humans are calling me 'Q,' it replied. Never liked my other name, so it's as good as any. That cursed Abra got me fantastically confused -- had me thinking I was drowning! -- 'till the female human slapped some sense back into me. It backfired though. The clay-colored Pokémon smiled unpleasantly. Abra got _itself_ confused, too. Served it right, too! Made me lose my companion. A frown creased its face. The pot slipped over its eyes as it bowed its head sadly. Poor Eevee. I hope I can find her soon. 

Manx and Nuisance traded a glance. Far too many things are called 'Eevee,' Manx muttered.

The unknown Pokémon pushed the pot back off its eyes. What do you mean? 

Our master -- the female -- is also called Eevee sometimes, Nuisance replied quickly. What of your companion? And what of the Abra? Why is it beside her? 

My companion was like me, though she wasn't the same kind of Pokémon, it replied, answering nothing. And as for your master, she's quite a pushover. The little monster's been playing her all night. 

Nuisance turned to face the Abra. He clenched his eyes shut, trying to concentrate: it didn't work. He grimaced. He needed… he needed to think, _really_ think, and he couldn't - not while the headache distracted him every time he tried to focus. Q, he said, may I borrow that bar for a moment? 

My bar? Q looked at the metal bar in its hand, then shrugged a little. I guess. It gave it to the Psyduck. What for? 

I need to think. 

You need a bar to think? 

It helps. With that, Nuisance whacked himself as hard as he could in the forehead.

What the-! Q cried.

Keep it quiet! Manx hissed at it.

He's going to bend my bar! Q whined.

I'll bend you in half if you don't keep it down, Manx snapped. Sweetie may be awake, but there are three other children who need their sleep! He looked at the Psyduck. If you need help, he said, his sneer returning, I'd be glad to smack you across the clearing. 

Nuisance didn't reply. His head swam with the blow; the pain in his head was excruciating, but, unfortunately, not painful enough. K… Q… he managed to stammer, holding out the bar to the other Pokémon. Wha… what I did? 

You smacked yourself in the head, you loon! Q snapped, snatching the bar back.

Yeah… yes… what I did… ? 

I just _told_ you what you did! 

I … do it again? 

Yo- _what_? 

Manx frowned. You obviously don't have much experience with Psyducks, he murmured tolerantly, as if his experience with Nuisance made him an expert on all Psyducks. They're a looney lot. Bang him in the head again if he enjoys it so much. 

But- 

_Do it!_ Nuisance snapped. Please! 

Q grimaced, then scowled, but it took the bar in both hands and, wielding it like a bat, it smacked Nuisance square in the forehead.

YAH- The Psyduck's cry of pain was cut short as his eyes lit up in a fierce blue haze. Q leaped backwards in surprise. Thank you, he murmured, his voice unnaturally quiet.

He focused now, very easily: when the pain was at a certain level, he'd found, it stopped being pain, and became energy. Certainly, afterward, he'd have an even larger headache than normal, but that wasn't his concern at the moment.

Abra, he hissed. You don't fool me. Get up. 

The Pokémon lying beside Ivonar opened his eyes, just slightly. What do you want, water fowl? it sneered softly.

What I want is my master, Nuisance replied.

The Abra chuckled softly. This thing? Her mental capabilities are laughable. Not even the dimmest glimmer of telekinetic potential. She doesn't even realize we're bonded, anymore than her companion does. 

Nuisance's beak fell open. He almost lost his concentration, but managed to catch it before the headache pummeled him from within. Bonded? he echoed. Why would you choose to bond yourself to someone you despise? 

The Abra sat up slowly. It regarded the Persian with a sneer. You don't have to worry about any of your precise little hairballs waking. If I wished, you would be asleep as well, but since this could be amusing, I'll let you remain awake. 

Manx's lip curled slightly. He shifted his left front paw so that Sweetie was between his forepaws before unsheathing his claws threateningly. I thought your smell was foul, he snarled softly.

The Abra laughed softly, keeping most of his attention on the Psyduck. I will admit, I bonded to her under the influence of confusion, he replied slowly, as if he didn't expect them to possibly understand, but it wasn't a full bond, of course. Bonding completely with a human requires complete concentration, which is impossible when one is confused. He sneered at the Psyduck. Which you would know a lot about, wouldn't you, Migraine Mallard? 

Nuisance kept his focus. What do you want with her, Abra? he demanded, his voice soft and toneless.

The Abra chuckled. I've always wanted a pet, he murmured, his tone dry. It is somewhat difficult to get around when you're asleep most of the day. Her legs, mostly. He laughed. Her food is also quite welcome. Scrounging for one's self can be difficult when, as I said, most of the day is spent asleep. 

Sweetie looked at Manx, her chin wobbling. Papa, she whispered softly, he's scaring me. 

'Papa'? The Abra laughed harshly. An immature, weak little Eevee calling a full-grown Persian 'Papa'? He hugged his sides as he laughed. You call yourself a Persian, tailless one? 

I call myself ' I ', Manx snarled, starting to rise. He leaned forward as he got up, so that Sweetie was sheltered beneath him. And I will call you 'dinner,' if you even _look_ like you are going to _hint_- 

Save me the speech, you posturing cripple, the Abra snapped. Ivonar stirred. The Abra blinked, pausing.

Nuisance was fighting to keep his concentration. The blows to his head were wearing off: he had to keep focused, or else he'd…

Focus.

Cripple, is he? he snapped, marching up to the Abra. What about _you_, you savage little ingrate? The Abra looked up at him; from his sitting position, he could do no less in order to look at the Psyduck in complete surprise. My master helps you regain your focus, and you thank her by making her a _puppet_? How would _you_ like it? 

The Abra sneered. Are you going to _show_ me, waterbird? he laughed.

My master named you Con, because you were confused when she found you, Nuisance snapped. But the name fits even now, you scamming con artist! Leave her alone! Get away from here… from us… from her… His focus returned, his eyes flaring anew. … or I _will_ show you. 

Slowly, the Abra floated upward, getting itself onto its feet. Will you, now, water Pokémon. 

I am not just a water Pokémon, you pathetic excuse for living matter, Nuisance snapped.

All you are is a bird with telekinetic potential, Con sneered, leaning down to look the Psyduck in the eye. You have no chance against a full psychic Pokémon. 

Do I, now? The unearthly light in Nuisance's eyes glowed so darkly, they seemed solid, his pupils having long faded from view. Care to back that up? 

The Abra really burst out laughing. It held its sides as tears stung its eyes, it laughed so hard. _You_… challenge… _me_?! he cried.

No, Nuisance replied coldly. I don't _want_ to challenge you. But what you suggest for my master is nothing short of humiliation. He lifted one arm casually. _That_ is what I want. 

Con stared at him. Wha… 

Pure, and complete, humiliation. The psychic fire flared brightly in the Psyduck's eyes as he jerked his raised arm viciously.

Con screamed in shock as he found himself flying through the air. He barely managed to cushion himself before he smacked harshly into a tree. You… _are_ strong, he murmured in surprise. For a fowl, he added quickly.

A grim smile crossed Nuisance's beak. You claim you have the advantage, as the full psychic here, he murmured softly. But you're wrong. 

Con sneered. Your reason for believing this being…? 

You have no training, Con artist, Nuisance replied coldly, and I have only the best. He slammed his hand forward, the fire in his eyes again blazing strong. The Abra, caught off-guard, slammed into the tree he had managed to avoid a moment earlier. Something you learn quickly, when you've been trained, Nuisance continued, is that abilities honed by training, no matter how innate those abilities _should_ be, will beat natural ability every… he slammed the Abra into another tree, …single… then back into the first, … time. Roughly, he let him go. This is your second warning, he said coldly. Leave us in peace, and leave my master alone. 

Con picked himself up, trying to hide the fact that his back hurt quite painfully. You can't break the hold I have on your master, he snapped. Nothing can do that besides me. Until _I_ say, _I_ will be the master of _your_ master! A snarl curled the deceptively harmless-looking Pokémon's lip.

Nuisance paused. He stood up straight. You're right, he murmured softly. Con sneered. Your partial bond gives you the upper hand. In full bonds, it is will that rules, but when the bond is incomplete, what bond there is is controlled by the more powerful psychic. 

You're smart for something that looks so stupid, Con snorted.

You're evil for something that looks so harmless! Q snapped.

Didn't I teach you a lesson before? Con snarled.

Yeah, and you obviously didn't learn a thing from it! Q sneered. Whoever heard of an Abra so sloppy that it gets _itself_ confused? 

Shut up! Con shouted, his eyes glowing a fiery red. Q gasped as it began to wobble upward.

No! 

Q fell back to the ground. It hadn't floated up far, but still it stumbled when it landed, in surprise.

Con glared hatefully at Nuisance. How _dare_ you? 

Nuisance just looked at him for a long time. His eyes smoldered strongly, the energy swirling upon itself. You flaunt the fact that you are going to hurt that which means more to me than anything else, he replied, his voice so soft as to be barely a whisper, and you ask how I _dare_? 

Con looked toward Ivonar's still-prone form. That… _thing_? 

That… _thing_, Nuisance continued, his voice still at the same barely-audible level, but more poisonous than the most potent Victreebel's acid, was the first _thing_, _ever_, to care the slightest bit about me. Not about the power you mock, not about the form you ridicule. That _thing_ does not _own_ me, anymore than I own her. He walked forward, coming face to face with the other Pokémon. That _thing_, he breathed, is why I _dare_. 

You… you can't do anything, Con said, barely managing to keep his voice steady. You cannot break the bond. 

I can't break the bond, Nuisance agreed. He reached forward, his fingertips ever-so-lightly resting against the Abra's forehead. But I certainly _can_ do something. He closed his furiously glowing eyes.

Con tried to pull away, but found he couldn't. You can't do anything! he cried hysterically. You can't! 

When the bond is complete, it is a matter of will, not power, Nuisance replied coldly.

Co… com… you _can't_! Con would have been trembling if he could, but he couldn't even do that much. Somehow, the Psyduck was too powerful! How could such a thing be happening?! You _can't!_

For a psychic Pokémon and a human to be bonded together, Nuisance said, his voice dead, all it requires is psychic power. The source is irrelevant. 

N- _no_! 

You wanted a puppet, Con artist? the Psyduck breathed, opening his eyes again. His fury turned the energy glowing in his eyes almost black. He lifted one hand slightly; the Abra floated a few inches up, but was powerless to do anything about it. Next time, be your own puppet. 

N… no… Con whispered.

Ivonar stirred, mumbling in her sleep. Chia's eyes fluttered open. She sat up quickly when she saw the Abra in the air. What in the- 

Shut up! Manx snarled at her. Don't distract him! 

Nuisance moved his other arm, just slightly. There was a soft rustle from Ivonar's pack, a slight _clink_, and something small and spherical flew out, into the Psyduck's small hand. He pressed the button on it, making it larger. You wanted to capture a slave, Con artist. He held the sphere forward, against the Abra's chest. Ironic that you should be captured instead. He pressed the button against the Abra's chest. The sphere flew open.

NO! Con screamed, as he felt himself breaking down. NO! _NO!_ _N-_ His screams were cut short as he disappeared into the pokéball.

Remmy sat up suddenly, throwing his sleeping bag open and turning to stare. Ivonar remained still.

Nuisance dropped the pokéball to the ground, staring at it as it wobbled for a few moments… then stopped. A moment later, in a brief flare of light, it vanished.

Again, he felt his focus slipping. He tried letting go slowly, but the adrenaline and extreme emotions raging through him were too much: all at once, the energy drained from him, and the pain exploded, tenfold, between his temples. He literally fell off his feet from the sheer power of it. Weakly, he reached for his head, as if to physically press the headache into a smaller place, when it exploded again, overwhelming him.

Without another sound, Nuisance fell into painless oblivion.

The last thing he heard was Ivonar starting to scream.

*

Remmy stared, his jaw hanging open, as the Abra disappeared into the pokéball Nuisance held in his small hand. The Psyduck dropped the ball, watching it as it wobbled, until finally it held still, then disappeared. The Pokémon stood there for only a moment more, before swaying, then falling over. Before he could get up, Nuisance's head lolled loosely onto the ground.

Sweetie squealed, running to the Psyduck. She put her front paws on his side, trying to rock him, but the Psyduck weighed four times as much as she did: he didn't move a muscle, much less an inch.

"Ivonar!" Remmy snapped, jumping up. "Something's wrong! Wake up!" Frantically, Remmy tried to figure out what happened: whatever it had been, how could he have _slept_ through it?! Sweetie, last he looked, had been in Ivonar's sleeping bag, the Abra in Sweetie's usual spot, Nuisance on his trainer's feet as always. Now none of them were in the same place. Manx had his claws completely bared, his ears laid back. Chia looked terrified. Two hideously dark bruises were forming on Nuisance's forehead, as if he'd been pummeled in the head with a blunt object. "Ivonar!" he snapped even louder. How could she _still_ be asleep? One of the things he'd quickly learned about Ivonar was that she was a pretty light sleeper. There was no way something that woke _him_ up wouldn't wake _her_ up. He knelt down next to her, shoving her shoulder. "Ivonar!"

She sat up so suddenly, her head nearly smashed into his chin. "_NO!_" she screamed, her eyes flying open. "_NO! NO!_" She gripped her forehead. "No, I'm sorry, don't-" Suddenly, she blinked rapidly. Then she did it again. She looked at Remmy blankly for a moment. "What… what happened? The… Abra… Con…" She shuddered. "Oh no… oh, _no_…"

"What?"

Ivonar brushed her bangs off her forehead. "He… Con… he… oh…" She sobbed, then covered her mouth. Then, she snapped herself back together. "Nuisance?" She scrambled out of her sleeping bag. "Nuisance!" She leaned over him. "Nuisance?" she whispered, brushing her fingertips against the bruises on his forehead. He didn't respond. "Oh, Nuisance…"

"Eevee!" Remmy crouched next to her, his expression heavy with worry. "What _happened_?"

She sobbed softly as she took Nuisance in her arms, cradling him gently. "It's… it's not completely clear," she whispered. "Con… he'd been confused, and almost bonded to me, but… and then he thought that I could carry him around, protect him… he… he wanted…" She shuddered. "He wanted to train _me_!" She hugged Nuisance tightly to herself. "Bu… but Nuisance… he… he finished the bond Con started, then totally Disabled… and… and Paralyzed… and…" She sobbed. "How does Nuisance know so many attacks?" She fell silent, her head pressed to Nuisance's chest. Her expression melted away.

"Nuisance caught Con," Remmy finished for her. "In more ways than one."

Ivonar nodded slightly. She stood up, taking Nuisance with her to her pack. She pulled out her pokéball belt, taking out his pokéball, and put him back in. A cold look settled over her face, as she went back to her sleeping bag, and started rolling it back up.

"Come on," she told him, her voice as expressionless as her face. "We have to get to Periwinkle City."

Remmy returned to his bag, and began rolling it. Chia hurried to help him. "Why?" he asked softly.

"Nuisance," she replied tonelessly. "I think he's dying."


	8. Default Chapter Title

**__**

A Pallet Pair #8:

Preserving Periwinkle City

__

The sun rose over the ocean far to the east, as slow and sure as it had from the beginning of the world. It was greeted by only the faintest wisps of clouds. Even those who were too far from the ocean to see it over the water were rewarded with the most beautiful eastern sky of the year.

Ivonar Marain, her jaw tightly set in the same scowl she'd been wearing for three hours, was facing firmly south. She gripped a pokéball in one hand, Sweetie to her chest with the other, even as she raced down the road. "Hang on," she whispered. "Hang on."

Beside her, Joey Remshaw was silent. He could have easily raced far ahead, but any attempt he had made to suggest it had been utterly ignored. There was no getting the pokéball out of his friend's hands. He had already placed Chia in her pokéball; she hadn't been able to keep up. He held Cole, Q, and Static in his arms.

On Ivonar's other side, Manx held Fluffball firmly in his jaws as he, too, kept pace with his trainer. His passenger made silence his only option, but, even so, he had nothing to say. Even if his trainer was able to understand him perfectly, which she wasn't, nothing could reach her in her determination.

Or almost nothing, as they soon found out.

Remmy was surprised to hear the sound of an engine approaching behind them. He glanced over his shoulder; a beat up pick-up was coming down the road. Between the early morning light and the truck's headlights, it was impossible to see the driver, much less see if the driver had seen them.

"Ivonar!" he said. She didn't show any signs of hearing him. "There's a truck behind us. Maybe we-"

Before he could say another word, Ivonar's scowl grew even deeper, and she stopped short. Before Remmy or Manx could skid to a stop, she whirled around, dropping Sweetie, and jumped into the middle of the road, her free hand out. "STOP!" she shouted.

The truck's brakes squealed, the radiator coming within two feet of Ivonar before the vehicle skidded to a stop. The headlights blinked off. The driver started to lean out the window, but before they did, Ivonar was around the cab, trying to open the passenger side door.

"What is _wrong_ with you, kid?" the driver snapped.

Ivonar glared at him through the open passenger-side window. Nothing really registered about him except that he wasn't being very helpful. "It's an emergency," she snapped. "Let us in, and get us to Periwinkle City."

The driver rested one arm against the wheel with infuriating calmness. "Oh really?" he replied. "What sort of emergency, hmm?"

"If you don't let us in," Ivonar snapped, "I have just wasted two minutes I could have used to save my Pokémon's life." She glanced down at the door lock keeping her from the cab. "Please," she said softly. "Let us in."

"That's all you had to say." The driver reached over, pulling up the lock. Then he leaned out his own window. "Hey, kid! Come get your lift!" he shouted at Remmy. "You and the cat get in the bed, okay? There's not too much room up front."

Ivonar tore the door open, leaping into the front seat. She held the door open for Sweetie to jump in the cab with them. She buckled herself in, waiting impatiently for Remmy and Manx to get the other Eevees and Q into the back of the truck. She jumped when she heard a _bang_ above her head. "We're in!" Remmy shouted.

The driver shifted the truck into gear and pressed his foot to the gas. "I meant that," the driver said. "Either 'please' or 'Pokémon' and you had me cornered."

Ivonar leaned against the back of the seat and sighed. "Thank you," she whispered. For the first time in three hours, she realized that she was dead tired. She closed her eyes. Already, they were going twice as fast as she'd been running.

"Sorry about giving you grief, there," the driver said. "I'm not exactly the nicest person first thing in the morning, especially not after spending the night in the car." He ran a hand through his hair self-consciously. "My hair is all sticking up, isn't it?"

Ivonar looked over at the driver. She was surprised to see that he was probably just old enough to drive - sixteen, seventeen at the absolute most. His dull, midnight blue hair was brushed mostly back, away from his face. "Yeah," she replied.

"Okay." He nodded slightly. He looked towards her, flashing a quick smile before turning his face back to the road. "I was worried it had gone flat."

She glared at him. "Can you concentrate on driving and not your hair, please?" she asked, gritting her teeth to keep herself from shouting.

He glanced at her again, without a trace of a smile. "I can concentrate on both," he replied. "I was just trying to help you _not_ concentrate on how helpless you must feel not being able to help your Pokémon yourself."

She was about to snap out a reply when she caught herself. "How-"

"How long have you been training?" he interrupted her.

She frowned a little, but decided to let him try his mind games. He was right, in a way - feeling helpless did nothing to make them go faster. She just had to sit back and be patient, now. In one way, it was easier to run than to accept his help: when she was running, it was up to her. Now, Nuisance's fate was in the hands of this stranger and his truck. "A little over a month."

He raised his eyebrows. "You look a bit old to be ten."

"I'm twelve."

"What kept you?"

She frowned. The stranger's bluntness was a little unnerving. "Last year I broke my leg, and the year before I came down with the flu. Bad luck kept me."

"No such thing as bad luck." He hit the turn signal, turning left at a fork in the road. "Just twists of fate."

"Yeah," Ivonar replied, looking out the window. "My fate's pretty twisted, all right." She watched as the ground between the two roads began to get lower very quickly. The road they were on veered even farther left as the low ground spread out.

"Was a nice sunrise," the driver said. "Too bad we missed it."

"I was a little distracted."

"And that's a 'little' understatement." She glanced at him cooly. "You were lucky I was trying to keep half an eye on the sunrise, or I wouldn't have been going so slow. You'd have been a pancake, and I'd've never driven again. In my line of work, driving's pretty important."

Ivonar looked out the window again. She was surprised to see that the ground on her side of the car was nearly non-existent: four feet from the truck, the ground simply dropped. It didn't start again for a good thousand feet. Only a two-foot high barrier separated the road from the cliff. "What do _you_ do?" she asked, to fill in the time.

"I train, too. My fifth year."

She looked at him. "I'd be being nice if I said you looked a bit old to be fifteen."

He glanced at her, then chuckled. "You have me there," he replied. "Just turned sixteen a couple months ago." He chuckled again. "Chicken pox."

She frowned. "Huh?"

He chuckled a third time. "I came down with the chicken pox when I was ten, or I'd've been training _six_ years, not five."

"If you train, why's driving so important?"

He shrugged one shoulder. "I don't really catch Pokémon for fun anymore. Sure, I train in my spare time, but I have a job, now, too, that helps me to train." He reached out of the truck with his left hand and hit the outside of his door. "This is the company truck."

"What company?"

He sighed. "I _used_ to work for the city, but I had to get a better-paying job after my first flopped. Now I work for PPE most of the time."

"'PPE'?"

"Take your pick - 'Periwinkle Pokémon Exterminators' or 'Painless Pokémon Evictors'."

"_Exterminators_?!" Ivonar cried.

"Hey! Take it easy!" The driver put one hand toward her, as if to ward her off if she decided to attack him. "I really prefer the second title. I get Pokémon out from where they don't belong."

Ivonar frowned, her expression suspicious. "What do you mean?"

"Say a Pikachu gets into a house and starts chewing electrical wires. It's my job to get it out of there and back into the wild where it belongs. Or if a Gastly decides to have a little fun and haunt an attic, it's my job to convince it to find someplace else. Or if a Gloom finds itself panicking in a mall, it's my job to face the smell and get it calmed down enough to get it someplace where it feels safer. I get Meowths out of trees, Eevees out of gardens, fickle Goldeens out of swimming lakes." He slowed down as they went over a bump. He waved to a man in a small booth, who waved back. They started to drive over a bridge. "That's my job. I don't _hurt_ Pokémon. I just remove them from places they don't belong."

"Oh." Ivonar looked out the window again; the ground was far, far below them.

"We're going over the bridge across the Angle," the driver said.

"The Angle?" Ivonar repeated, looking at him again.

"Yeah. The Angle is a part of Tier Canyon that juts out from the rest."

Ivonar thought back to the map. Tier Canyon had been shaped vaguely like a diamond, except that its upper-right side had a sort of triangle sticking out of it. She decided that he must be talking about the triangular part. "Are we almost there?" she asked.

"Just another couple of minutes. What happened?"

She shook her head. "I'm not entirely sure. I was asleep. I had these… these weird dreams, like I couldn't move, and I heard these voices… familiar voices that I couldn't quite understand…" She shook her head.

"Go on."

"Then… then I got this weird feeling all over me, and… it was as if I wasn't myself anymore. I saw Nuisance, his eyes glowing nearly black, and I was terrified, and surprised, and… and then I… I can't describe it. The next thing I knew, I was sitting up, screaming that I was sorry."

"Sorry?"

"That was the last thing I kind of remember about it. I felt… kind of sorry, for something." She shook her head. "When I got out of my sleeping bag, I found Nuisance, his head all bruised. He wasn't conscious. And… and his heart was so… so slow…"

"His heart?"

She nodded. "It… it sounded wrong. It never sounded nearly that slow."

"What _is_ Nuisance?"

"A Psyduck."

"A Psyduck with its eyes glowing _black_…?" He frowned. "I've dealt with a few Psyducks. Never seen them with _black_ eyes before. But those whose eyes glowed _blue_ had their psychic abilities working. From my experience, the darker the color, the more angry they were." His frown deepened. "You said you found your Psyduck unconscious. Had it been fighting something?"

She nodded. "An Abra."

"Ah." He nodded as well. "Ever think he might've been in shock?"

"Shock?"

"Has your Psyduck ever fought with another Pokémon with any psychic abilities?"

"No…"

They drove off the bridge. The driver slowed for another speed bump, then drove faster again. "Brain freeze."

"Huh?"

"Your Psyduck probably fainted from expending too much psychic energy. Psychic attacks aren't exactly their most powerful against other psychic attacks. Your Psyduck probably wiped itself out. Psychic attacks aren't like physical attacks. Too many punches just hurts the arm, and maybe a few back muscles. Psychic weariness affects more than just the mind." He frowned a little. "Never heard of a Psyduck beating an Abra at its own game."

"You haven't met Nuisance."

He glanced at her, mildly surprised. He looked back at the road as he hit the turn signal again. "I'll have to make an appointment, then." He turned into a short driveway. "We're here."

Ivonar unbuckled quickly, then, shoving her door open, jumped out. She was about to slam the door shut again, when she remembered to wait to let Sweetie out. She looked up at the driver. "Thanks."

He gave her a quick smile, and a quicker salute. "Be sure to stop in at the PPE office later. I want to know how your Psyduck's doing."

"Okay." She shut the door.

"Your friend out of the back?"

She turned back to him, then felt a hand on her shoulder. "We're all out," Remmy replied for her. "Thanks for the lift."

The stranger nodded.

"Come on," Ivonar said, turning to the Pokémon Center. She ran inside.

Remmy paused, watching the retreating truck. "Hope she knows who he is," he muttered to himself. Manx snorted impatiently; Ivonar had gone too quickly through the door to let him or the Eevees follow her inside. Remmy grimaced, then hurried after his friend, the Persian and the Eevees at his heels.

*

They sat silently in the waiting room, Sweetie in Ivonar's lap, Static in Remmy's. Q had taken refuge under their seats, and Manx lay by their feet, as if they were cooperating to keep the Pokémon whose species remained a mystery from the sight of anyone who might wander in. Chia sat in the chair beside Remmy's, a worried look on her face. She pet Cole, who was curled up beside her, and waved her tail lazily to keep Fluffball occupied.

Ivonar kept her eyes fixedly on her hands, which were folded together on top of Sweetie. Her knuckles were dead white. "How long has it been?" she asked tonelessly.

Remmy looked up at the clock across the room. "Four hours," he replied.

"Since I last asked?"

He shook his head, even though she wouldn't see him. "It's been twenty minutes since you last asked."

Ivonar finally looked up from her hands, to look at the lit ER sign. "Hang on," she whispered, then looked back down at her hands again.

Remmy sighed softly. He picked Static up, putting him on the floor so that he could stand up. "Eevee, I'm going to call Professor Oak," he said. "I understand you want to wait to see what they say about Nuisance, but for now, I'm going to see if Professor Oak knows what Q is. Okay?" She didn't even nod, much less look at him. He knew she could hear him; he guessed she didn't really care what he did, at the moment. "Come on, Q. Chia, you stay here." Q crawled out from under the chair Remmy had been sitting in, the bar it still carried scraping against the floor; Manx tucked his hindquarters tighter into the ball he was curled up in to make it easier for it to get out. Remmy picked it up, carrying it to one of the public phones in the corner of the waiting room. He chose the one farthest in the corner, where he was least likely to be seen. He sat at the chair provided, with Q in his lap. He fed some change into it, and dialed.

After a couple minutes and several rings, the connection finally went through. "Just a moment…" a frazzled voice said, before the picture came through as well. Professor Oak looked awake, if barely; a mug of coffee sat dangerously close to the monitor. "Joey! Good to see you! You're up bright and early." He reached for his mug, bringing it to his lips.

"We've had our share of problems," he replied. "Good to see you, Professor."

"'We'?" Professor Oak echoed, nearly spilling the coffee all over himself. "Oh! You mean you and your Bulbasaur. How is it?"

Remmy shook his head. "I mean me and Ivonar," he corrected the man.

"You… and Ivonar?"

Remmy nodded. "We've been training together. She didn't mention it when she called you?"

Professor Oak shook his head as he tried to take a sip of his coffee; somehow, he managed to without spilling it on himself. "No… she complained about her Poliwag evolving, and told me a real shocker about her Psyduck. Does it _really_ know Psychic Toss?"

Remmy nodded again. "But we've found out something new. Nuisance is a year older than Ivonar thought."

"'Nuisance'?"

"The Psyduck." Remmy grimaced. "Did you get the Abra?"

Professor Oak nodded. "Sullen little thing. I know Abras spent most of the day sleeping, but it hasn't moved at _all_ since coming here! What _happened_ to it, anyway? It took me awhile to realize it was completely… _neutralized_, for lack of a better term. Confused, paralyzed, disabled… all but poisoned and pummeled!"

"It and Nuisance had a disagreement." Remmy's grimace became a scowl. "The Abra tried training Ivonar instead of the other way around. Nuisance didn't let it." He looked toward Ivonar; she hadn't moved. "Nuisance beat it… but now he's in ER. Ivonar said he was dying."

"Oh… oh, dear." The Professor bit his knuckle, grimacing, before speaking again. "Tell Ivy my prayers are with you."

"I will." Remmy exhaled slowly. "We have another thing, though."

"Not something _else_!"

"It's not really bad news, Professor. Just a question we really hope you can answer."

Professor Oak sighed in relief. "What is the question, Joey?"

"Can you name this Pokémon?" Remmy took Q under the armpits and lifted it in view of the telephone's screen. The movement knocked the pot Q wore on its head over its eyes.

"Not… with the pot on its head, I'm afraid. What's that in its paw?"

"Part of Ivonar's mess kit. It doesn't want to give it back." Remmy placed Q lightly on the telephone's keypad, and took off the pot. Q glared over its shoulder grumpily, but, unlike the night before, didn't seem frantic to get its helmet back. Instead, it smacked him sharply in the thigh with the bar in its paw. He cringed.

"I…" Professor Oak leaned forward, toward the screen. Q cocked its head to the side, and did the same. It looked as if they were nose-to-nose. "I… I don't believe I can." He sat back down. Q pressed its snout to the screen, then one paw, as if to follow him. "In all my years, I don't think I've ever seen that Pokémon species before. You _found_ it?"

Remmy nodded. "Just a few minutes before we found the Abra. The Pokédex says the closest thing it's programmed to recognize is a Cubone."

The professor frowned, then shook his head. "If that's a Cubone," he said, "why doesn't it have a skull helmet?"

Remmy shrugged. "It's been wearing the pot ever since Ivonar took it out of her pack."

Professor Oak shook his head. "If you tried removing the skull off a Cubone… even if you had been training it for years… well, in the very least, you probably wouldn't be able to count to ten on your fingers anymore. Let me see its profile, Joey."

Remmy nodded. He put the pot on the floor, and shifted Q so the Professor could see its right side. The older man shook his head again. "Its tail is too short… the ridges down its back completely wrong… I can't tell you anything about the head, I'm afraid, but from the rest of it, I wouldn't call it a Cubone."

"There's one other thing," Remmy said. "All it says is 'q'."

"Q!" the Pokémon agreed, turning to look at the monitor again. It grinned.

"Hmm…" Professor Oak shook his head. "I'm afraid I can't answer your question, Joey. I'll have to ask some of my associates if they know of anything of the sort... perhaps some of the geneticists I know will have an idea. It may be a hybrid of some sort that escaped a lab, or a resurrected Pokémon from prehistoric DNA whose current records are limited to skin samples and incomplete skeletons..."

"Thanks anyway, Professor," Remmy interrupted him politely.

"Oh! Yes, I'm sorry. I totally forgot the line was still open." The professor frowned seriously. "I'll look into getting that Pokémon identified, Joey, and, as I said, tell Ivy that I hope everything turns out for the best. Good luck to you both."

"Thanks, Professor. You too. Tell my parents I said hi, okay? I don't know when I can get to a phone again, and I have to sit with Ivonar for awhile."

"Of course. I'll also give a word to Ivy's parents as well…"

"Professor? Maybe it's better you didn't." Remmy grimaced a little. "At least, let Ivonar give them any _bad_ news."

The professor grimaced as well, then nodded slightly. "Yes… that's probably for the best. Thank you for calling, Joey. Until later, then."

"Bye, Professor." He hung up, grimacing again, then picked up the pot, put it back on Q's head, and got up. He carried the Pokémon back to his seat, putting it on the floor so it could scurry under his chair again. He sat down again.

"How long was that?" Ivonar asked tonelessly.

Remmy glanced at the clock. "About ten minu-"

"Ivonar Marain?"

Ivonar leaped to her feet. "Yes?" she snapped out quickly at the nurse who had suddenly appeared. It was another Nurse Joy, but Ivonar was starting to get used to the idea. Besides, she had more important things on her mind.

The nurse looked tired, but she was smiling. "Your Pokémon took quite a shock," she said, "but it will be fine, with _plenty_ of rest." Her smile vanished completely. "How could you be so irresponsible to battle it into that condition?"

"Battle it-" Ivonar scowled. "I would _never_ do that to Nuisance!"

"_'Nuisance_'?" the nurse echoed harshly. "With a name like that-"

"My _brother_ named him!" Ivonar snapped. "I would _never_ hurt Nuisance! He happened to have _saved_ me! I didn't _battle_ him! He caught that Abra by _himself_! _I_ was _asleep_!" She clenched her fists. She inhaled sharply, not quite sobbing. "It's all my fault, helping that Abra. I shouldn't have been so stupid. I should have seen that the stupid thing was using me. But I didn't. Nuisance did - and look where it got him!" This time, she did sob. "It _is_ my fault," she whimpered, tears stinging her eyes. "I should have seen- should have noticed- shouldn't have-"

All anger had fled from the nurse long before this point. Sympathetically, she wrapped her arms around Ivonar, holding her close. "Shh," she murmured. "It's all right. Nuisance will be fine, given a few weeks to recuperate. "You can't blame yourself. You did what you felt was right. Sometimes, what is right turns out wrong. Sometimes, when a Pokémon comes in here, I'm certain I can save it - and I can't." Ivonar looked up at the nurse's now kind expression. "But today, a Pokémon came in that I wasn't sure I could save - and I did." She gave Ivonar a little squeeze. "It's always best to do what is right, Miss Marain. It may not turn out for the best, but, in the end…"

Ivonar nodded, wiping at her eyes. "I understand," she muttered softly. "When… when can I see him?"

"Tomorrow," the nurse replied. "For now, I have Nuisance sedated. More than anything, it needs its rest, so for now I want it to stay asleep."

Ivonar nodded again. "But he'll be okay?"

The nurse nodded, but her smile faded. The harsh expression from before did not replace it, but that didn't mean her expression was any less stern. "He will need several weeks to recuperate, however. That means no battling at all. I'd prefer he just stay in a pokéball for at least a week."

"Except to eat, all he really does is sleep on my feet at night, unless he battles," Ivonar replied. "Is it okay if he still does that? Except for the battling, I mean."

The nurse nodded. "Nothing stressful for him. His natural headache will be quite strong for the next few weeks from the strain he was under. I want you to give him two of these with every meal." She pulled a pill bottle out of her apron, handing it to Ivonar. "You can't give Pokémon aspirin, but this is their equivalent. Two with each meal," she repeated, then added, "but, since it's a Psyduck, no more than four a day. With Psyducks, there is a slight possibility of addiction to this. He may become accustomed to having a lesser headache: he can become _too_ used to it."

"No more than four," Ivonar echoed, nodding seriously. 

"Also, you can't give him the two doses he's allowed daily within six hours of each other. I suggest you give them twelve hours apart - perhaps eight a.m. and eight p.m., or whatever fits into your schedule best. Remember - because he's a Psyduck, this _could_ be harmful if used incorrectly." She pointed to the bottle in Ivonar's hand. "That should be a month's supply. A moment ago, I was seriously considering telling you to leave your Psyduck here, instead of giving you that." She smiled reassuringly. "But now that I know what happened, I think it may be better for him if he stays with you."

Ivonar nodded slightly, smiling as best as she could. "Thank you."

"You can stay here, for the night, if you wish," the nurse told them. "There's rooms upstairs for trainers whose Pokémon stay overnight." Ivonar nodded.

Remmy nodded as well, and took Ivonar's elbow. "I think we should get some breakfast," he said, then added as Ivonar gave him a skeptical look, "if only to kill time. We're not going to mope around _here_ all day, are we? There's nothing we can do, Eevee, and we'll only get in the way."

Ivonar grimaced, then sighed. "All right. The Eevees are probably hungry, anyway. It's passed their breakfast time." Sullenly, she followed Remmy back to their seats.

*

After a small breakfast at a diner that seemed even smaller than their appetites, the two trainers wandered aimlessly along the sidewalk in the early morning haze. The beauty of the morning had vanished: a sort of thin curtain of haze seemed to hang over the entire line of buildings, and filled the canyon that the city seemed to hug too closely for safety's sake. The haze hid the other side of the canyon from view: it was if the city were perched on the edge of the world. They had left the Eevees in Chia's care back at the Pokémon Center: the only Pokémon with them was Manx.

"So this is 'kle City'," Remmy joked.

"Huh?" Ivonar asked dully.

"According to the map, we're on the east side of Tier Canyon, so we're in 'kle City'." He glanced at her. She had her head bowed, looking at her feet as if to ask them how they could stand to be attached to her. "Ivonar," he said, "aren't we a little far for that psychic bond to affect you?"

"Hmm?" She glanced at him, a pained expression on her face. "If you mean we're too far for Con to have any effect on me… well, your guess is as good as mine. I really can't tell. I couldn't tell even when he was right next to me." She kicked at a stone. Even though her expression remained passive, the distance the stone skipped in so short a time told of the anger that dwelt beneath her self-punishment.

"My parents always told me, there's no such thing as an evil Pokémon," Remmy said. "Con seemed to come pretty close."

Ivonar shook her head. "Con's not evil." She looked toward the canyon running parallel to the sidewalk. "Just self-centered and greedy. All his life, he had to look after himself. I was just another means to do that. If it meant using me against my will, then he'd do it. Same as training an unruly Pokémon. Instead of trying to get me to respect him, as I did Ro and Manx, he was going to use force." Manx snorted softly, as if the very idea of him respecting her was simply silly, but his faint smile made it unclear if he meant it or not. "He simply didn't know any better."

Remmy nodded. "Selfish little brat."

"Exactly. But he had the power to make himself dangerous, too." Ivonar grimaced. "If I ever see Con again," she murmured quietly, "it will be too soon."

Remmy nodded again, then decided to change the subject. "Did you get to thank the guy that drove us here?"

It was Ivonar's turn to nod. "He said he wanted to know how Nuisance was. We could try to find where he is, to kill some time."

"Sounds good. Do you have any idea where to find him? What's his name?"

Ivonar shrugged. "I… kind of never asked," she replied. "But he said he works at a place called the PPE."

"The what?"

"It's some sort of Pokémon relocation thing. Sounded like a pretty cool job, actually. He's paid to drive around, getting Pokémon out of places they don't belong without hurting them."

"Did he say where it was?"

Ivonar shook her head. "I guess he figured we could find it. Maybe it's a popular place or something." The thinly paved road was only one lane; no cars passed by. The sidewalks weren't that crowded, and what people were about at the early hour did not look willing to pause to give directions. The citizens of Periwinkle City seemed sullen, if not downright upset, as they hurried from where they had come from to where they were going, their eyes almost fixedly on the ground. Ivonar looked again toward the canyon. "Have you noticed that nobody seems to look at the canyon?"

Remmy nodded. "It's like, if they ignore it, it'll go away."

"You'd think there'd be more bridges across it. I haven't seen any." Ivonar frowned. "Isn't there a whole second half to the city on the other side of the canyon?"

"According to the map, there is," Remmy agreed. "I know what you mean. It's kind of weird that there aren't any bridges across it."

"Never thought I'd see the day." The two of them looked up at a slightly balding man who had paused on his way in the opposite direction. "You actually _came_ to Periwinkle?"

"It was kind of an emergency," Ivonar replied.

The man nodded. "That explains it," he said. "Was kind of surprised to see you had your Pokémon with you. Most people have enough sense to keep theirs indoors, where air conditioning can save their lungs. You don't wander around Periwinkle unless you have to, kids. Keep that in mind."

"What do you mean?" Remmy asked.

"You really don't know?" The man covered his mouth with his fist, a rough cough escaping him before he continued. "See that so-called 'canyon' over there?" He pointed roughly at where the ground dropped off not a hundred feet away. "Used to be the main hub of Periwinkle Town. Then somebody deepening a water well went and struck some sort of valuable ore - coal, I think. A big mining corporation bought out about seventy percent of the town, and either bribed away, or scared off, everybody else. That overgrown ditch is the result of one of the biggest mining flops in history. Nothing but dirt down there. The company actually _paid_ the people who used to live in Periwinkle Town the same price they paid to _buy_ their land to get them to take it _back_! That was twelve, thirteen years ago: we're _still_ trying to get back what we had. And we won't any time soon, either." He started coughing again. "I have to get out of this air. The dust _still_ hasn't settled from all that deconstruction… You take care of yourselves, and get inside!"

"Wait! Sir?" Ivonar jogged a few steps after him. "Do you know where the PPE office is?"

"Got a Pikachu in the wires? Yeah… we've been having a lot of Pokémon problems ever since us 'brave' ones moved back. With the loss of the clean air, they've been taking shelter in our homes, same as we have. End of the street, the way you're going. Can't miss it." He hurried away, coughing again, before Ivonar could thank him.

"He's right," Remmy said. "The air is disgusting." He looked up. Where, mere hours before, barely a cloud had marred the sky, a smoggy haze hid any clue of what color the sky might be. "I guess this is what Daisy and the others meant about avoiding Periwinkle City."

"Yeah, I guess - but we didn't really have a choice, did we?" Ivonar gave Manx's head a quick rub as she turned around again, facing the direction they had been going before. "Let's go see that guy before _we_ start choking, too."

*

As he ran his fingers through his hair, he knew it was a habit he'd been meaning to break, but after six years he still hadn't even come close. What began as something he did when he was nervous was now something he did at just about every other time too. "Lazy day," he grinned at Janice. "Phone hasn't rung once."

She glanced up from her magazine, sparing him a cold look. "It's barely nine in the morning, Zeke. Stop saying that before you jinx it."

He cringed: that, along with his full name, was a label he hated. Still, as a matter of peace, he let it slide. He leaned back in his chair, putting his feet on his desk with his ankles crossed. To give his fingers something to do, he toyed with a rubber band. "You know I hate lazy days, Jan," he replied with a calmness he had learned over the years. It was a calmness calculated to that perfect pitch of coolness that drove people to the edge of fury without giving them a reason to act on it. The use of her own disliked nickname only added icing to the metaphorical cake. "I happen to _like_ this work."

"_You_ would," she retorted, as if it was an insult. With a rustling _snap_, she flipped the page of her magazine. "Just leave me alone, will you? Find something else to keep you occupied besides annoying me."

He grinned his closed-mouth, all-knowing grin, the one that, like the calmness he'd mastered in his voice, was perfectly calculated to drive people nuts - especially people like Janice, who were far more interesting when they were nuts. "But you make it so much fun!" he replied in his most innocent voice.

She spared him another cold look, then returned to her magazine.

Obviously, she really _wasn't_ in the mood. Hs sighed softly, then winced as he accidentally snapped the rubber band against his finger. He lifted his left fist, then raised his thumb. He looped the rubber band on his thumb, pulling it taut, and took aim for the nose of the model on the cover of Janice's magazine. He sighed again; deciding to be nice for once, he lowered his thumb quickly, letting the rubber band snap back against his fingers.

He heard the faint chime of the bell on the door. Immediately, both he and Janice sat up. Janice stashed her magazine in her desk as he put his feet back on the floor.

There was a long pause, a quiet disturbed only by muffled voices from the waiting room. "New client," Janice muttered. "Nothing else takes _this_ long."

"Great." He leaned back again to put his feet back up on his desk. "We'll be waiting another hour, then. Wake me when-"

The door to the mini-office they (thanks to the incomprehensible judgement of their superiors) shared opened. Surprised, "Zeke" leaned back quickly to get his feet, which were halfway on his desk, back on the floor, and overcompensated. For the first time in his life, he blessed the fact that the room was so tiny: the chair hit the wall and bounced back into the upright position so quickly, the familiar faces in the door barely had time to blink before he was standing up, all professional.

"Hey," he greeted them casually. "How's the Psyduck?"

The girl from that morning nodded, grimacing. "He'll be okay," she replied, brushing some slightly-longer-than shoulder-length brown hair off her shoulder. "Right now he's under sedation. We're stuck here for the day."

"Lucky you," Janice told her cynically, smirking. She opened her desk drawer, pulling out her magazine again. "Zeke, keep the personal business short, okay? You're on paid time."

He rolled his eyes slightly, grimacing a little. "Then if anyone shows up, I'm taking lunch early."

"Great! Leave me all the work."

"_What_ work? I just spent two days in Lavender trying to convince a Gastly to get out of someone's basement and back into their tower. Both nights were in the cab of the truck. _You_ spent the same two days answering magazine quizzes. Don't give me grief, Jan. I'll be back in an hour." With that, he went around the desk, putting one arm around the girl's shoulders, the other around the boy's, and hauled them back _out_ of the micro-office, trusting their Persian to have enough sense to follow.

*

"Sorry about that," the boy said, as once again they found themselves in the heavy air of Periwinkle City. "That was Janice, my fellow junior-member. She gets annoying fast."

"I can see why," Ivonar agreed. "People like that make me glad I don't have an older sister. I'd rather deal with Toby any day over a stuck-up model wannabe."

"Toby?" the stranger echoed.

Ivonar shrugged a little. "My little brother."

The stranger chuckled. "I'll keep that in mind. I'm an only child, actually." He looked toward the canyon for a moment, then released their shoulders to wave them after him. "Come on. I know someplace we can breathe." He jogged down the sidewalk, heading farther away from the Pokémon Center. Remmy and Ivonar traded a look: as far as they could tell, there weren't any buildings beyond the PPE office. Remmy shrugged a little. They headed after their new friend.

They became a little worried when the sidewalk soon ended, and the path took a sharp turn downward. The stranger looked over his shoulder to give them a reassuring grin. "I'm taking you below the smog-line," he told them, "just inside the canyon. Most people hate it, because it ruined Periwinkle's look, but most of the adults don't realize is that, _inside_ the canyon, the air's pretty clear. The adults avoid even _looking_ at the canyon, most of the time."

"We noticed," Ivonar agreed.

"What's your name?" Remmy asked.  
"Ah. Someone else realizes we're lacking something." He slowed down, letting them catch up to him. They went slowly over the infirm ground, watching their step, but he seemed unafraid of slipping. "My parents were cruel enough to name me Ezekiel Andrews the Fourth. Most people around here call me Zeke, which I hate but put up with."

Ivonar nodded sympathetically. "Some people call me Ivy. I can't stand it."

"Ivy, huh?" Ezekiel echoed. "Green thumb, or is it short for something?"

Ivonar gave him a skeptical look. "I like being called 'Eevee' better." She chucked her thumb at her friend. "That's Remmy."

"Another nickname," Remmy said, shrugging a little. "The only one of us without one is Manx." He ruffled the fur on the cat's head.

"Sure he does," Ivonar said, smiling faintly. "I like to call him 'scaredy cat'." Manx gave her an amused glare.

Ezekiel stopped short on a slight ledge, then jumped to another one three feet below it. "Evelyn and Rembrant?" he guessed as he hopped to where the path continued, two feet below the second ledge.

Ivonar shook her head as she followed after him, Manx beside her. "My name's really Ivonar," she said.

"Hmm." Ezekiel frowned thoughtfully at her as she landed beside him. He wasn't overly tall: at most, he was three inches taller than she was. "Haven't heard of _that_ name before."

"Neither have I," Ivonar agreed ruefully. "I have no idea where my parents got it from."

Ezekiel looked up at Remmy, who was still on the first ledge. "What about you?" he asked. "What's 'Remmy' for?"

"Remshaw," Remmy told him, jumping to the second ledge.

It was Ezekiel's turn to look skeptical. "And I thought _I_ was unlucky."

Remmy grinned one of his rare grins. "That's my last name."

"_Ah_." Ezekiel grinned, too. "Then I stand corrected. I _am_ the unlucky one." His grin became a pleasant smile. "Personally, I like being called Zan. 'Z' from 'Zeke', 'an' from 'Andrews'. I don't know who started it, but…" He shrugged. "I dunno. I like it."

There was quiet on the rocky path.

"_Zan_?" Ivonar echoed. She paused for a long moment. Zan waited for her to find what she wanted to say. "You're the Periwinkle City gym leader?"

Zan snorted softly. "I wish." He turned around, heading further down the path. Remmy, Ivonar, and Manx followed as best as they could. The path was rocky and steep; half of it looked like it would turn into a rockslide any minute. "Or, should I say, I wish I still was," he corrected himself a moment later, as he slid a few feet down an especially steep part.

"What do mean, still _were_?" Ivonar asked. "Somebody replaced you?"

Zan shook his head. "That's just it," he sighed. "_That's_ the job I used to have for the city - I ran the local Pokémon gym. We managed to get one, and we hoped it'd bring in trainers looking for badges. It was hoped that trainers going to Cerulean City would come here to get a badge, replenish their supplies, and generally help us get even more work done in reclaiming what that stupid corporation made us lose." He sighed as he skidded down the path. "I barely remember when this was Periwinkle Town," he said quietly. "I was only three, I think. I vaguely remember when they brought in the digging machines. Right where we are used to be twenty feet below the park in front of my house." He looked back up the way they came. He pointed. "Right where the rim is, where we started down? That's where my house used to be. They tore it down, same as they did nearly everything else."

"That's terrible," Ivonar murmured.

"That's people," Zan replied with a slight shrug.

"That's a strange thing to say," Remmy said slowly.

Zan chuckled. "I don't tend to give people much credit," he said. "I greatly prefer Pokémon. They don't do things like this." He waved a hand toward the entire canyon. "_They_ don't destroy each other's homes for the sake of something they can't see. The only interest they might have in another's property is the ability to live off of it." He crouched down, gripping the ledge he stood on. There was another, much larger ledge below, but the drop was closer to seven feet than three. Zan grimaced a little, then shoved his feet outward. He twisted around as he launched himself forward, letting go with one hand in order to face the ledge as he hung in the air above the next ledge down. Only then did he let go. He grinned up at the others. "Coming? I can catch you, if you like."

Manx looked down at him with a scowl, then, in a very determined way, lay down right where he was. He snorted, shaking his head slightly, as if to dismiss any knowledge of anyone who was foolish enough to try such a thing.

Remmy and Ivonar looked around for another way down, but, finding none, accepted help getting to the next ledge. Once they had ground beneath their feet again, Zan grinned. He turned away from them, going right to the edge of the ledge, and inhaled deeply. "Much better," he sighed, exhaling slowly.

"Why aren't you a gym leader anymore?" Remmy asked.

Zan sighed, staring out across the canyon. He was right: here, maybe fifty feet below the city, the air was much clearer. They could see the matching cliff across the expanse of the man-made canyon. "Not enough trainers showed up to make it worthwhile," he replied. "Periwinkle City has been balancing on the edge of collapse ever since people came back. The only reason we're not a town anymore is because we rebuilt around the canyon - we're simply too _big_ to be a town anymore." He sat down with his legs hanging off the edge of the ledge. "Not counting the few people who tried more than once to earn a Chasm Badge from me, I battled twenty-two times as the gym leader of the Periwinkle Gym," he told them, his voice quiet. "Of twenty-two battles, I gave eight badges."

"Only eight?" Ivonar asked, surprised. She eyed the ledge, grimacing slightly, then chose to sit behind him. The drop from the ledge they were on was mind-boggling: there was nothing but small juts of rock breaking a plunge straight down to the bottom of the canyon.

"Only eight," Zan confirmed. "Most people didn't count on the bad air having such an effect on their Pokémon - it weakened them before they even got to the gym."

"My cousins run the Cerulean gym," Remmy said. "They told us you specialize in ghost and poison Pokémon."

Zan chuckled. "I didn't start specializing in ghost Pokémon until after I was forced to take the job with the PPE. Most of the problems outside Periwinkle are with ghost Pokémon not having any place to go. With all the ghost Pokémon I've come across, the most fun they can possibly have is to play tricks on humans. To catch them, you have to be even trickier." The slight smile he was wearing faded as he sighed again. "As for poison Pokémon… I chose to specialize in them because, while my folks and I lived in Cerulean while the miners were here, I would sometimes come down here. I actually watched Tier Canyon be dug."

"Why's it called that?" Remmy asked.

"You know what a 'tier' is?" Zan asked him. He took the ten-year-old's silence as a negative. "It's like a shelf in a bookcase, or a floor on a building. It's a level out of many levels." He looked down toward the bottom of the canyon without looking the least bit scared. If anything, he looked sad. "The mining company dug out the canyon layer by layer. Tier by tier. That's why it's called Tier Canyon." He bit his lip slightly before he continued. "I chose to specialize in poison Pokémon because I saw what was happening here. I saw the haze begin. It never lifts, you know. Poison Pokémon are about the only Pokémon who can survive here happily. I wanted to be a Pokémon trainer, but, in case we ever moved back here, I wanted to have Pokémon who could be happy here."

"You're not afraid to fall, are you?" Ivonar asked him.

Zan shook his head. "Not at all," he replied easily. "See, if the ledge were to break beneath me, I have a Pokémon who can catch me long before I get hurt. It's happened a few times, you see. After the first couple times, I got over it."

"So there's no gym here at all?" Ivonar asked, sounding only a little disappointed.

"Oh, there is." Zan patted the ground beneath him. "We're sitting on the roof, actually." He pointed down toward the bottom of the canyon. "There used to be a metal staircase down to the gym, but after the gym was closed down, people forgot about it. It started rusting, and eventually rusted right off. It's down there somewhere, now." He grimaced sadly. "I was a little surprised the day I found it gone. Nobody really comes down this way. Nobody really cares." He stared out over the canyon, toward the other side. Still, the other half of the city was blocked from view by the haze. "It's my hope that some use for Tier Canyon can be found to help out the city. People prefer to just ignore it, but I'm sure that, somehow, what destroyed our town can save our city." He leaned over, crossing his arms and resting them on his knees. "I just wish I could figure out how."

*

Half an hour later, they started the climb back up to city level.

"We only climbed half a tier down," Zan told them, as he gave Ivonar a boost back up to ledge Manx had refused to leave, "and there's three hundred of them. The whole canyon is about three thousand feet deep. Falling takes awhile."

Ivonar shuddered as she scrambled onto the ledge. Three thousand feet… that was about half a mile. Half a mile straight down! She turned around, kneeling on the edge of the higher ledge to hold a hand out for Remmy.

Remmy stood with his foot in Zan's hands, just as Ivonar had, but his shorter height made it impossible for him to reach the ledge. If Ivonar hadn't been there, he would have been stuck. He grabbed her hand, and she jerked her weight backwards, lifting him the few inches necessary for him to get a good grip on the ledge while Zan boosted him up from below. "That's… pretty deep," Remmy grunted, as the ledge caught him a little roughly in the gut. He pinwheeled his legs to help get himself up. Zan stepped backwards quickly, so not to get kicked. "Did they find any fossils, or anything?"

"Fossils?" Zan echoed. He backed up further, right to the end of the ledge. He grinned up at them. "You're going to have to move," he said. They stepped backwards. Zan ran forward, jumping up to grab the ledge and boost himself up in one smooth motion. He slipped for a moment, almost falling back, but managed to catch himself. He stood up again, brushing off the dust-colored uniform he wore. "What do you mean, fossils?"

Remmy shrugged a little. "Three thousand feet is really deep. They didn't find any fossils?"

"They? Who's they?"

Ivonar frowned. "Nobody's studied the canyon at all?"

Zan shrugged. "It's a mining hole. If you look, there's some marshy water at the bottom, but I sent Asthma down there once, and he said it's not drinkable."

"'Asthma'?" Remmy echoed.

Zan chuckled. "A Koffing I caught on my first job for the PPE. He evolved into Weezing a year or so ago. His name's a joke, really, but he doesn't mind." He smiled a little as he boosted himself up onto another ledge. "But, like I said, why should there be fossils down there? Wouldn't the miners' machines have destroyed anything interesting down there?"

"Anything directly _in_ the hole, yeah," Ivonar agreed, "but maybe there's stuff in the walls. I mean, each of us could be standing on a fossil right now."

In unison, all three of them paused, looking down at the ledge they stood on, and lifted one of their feet to check the theory. Everyone came up disappointed. Manx rolled his eyes.

"That _is_ an idea," Zan said as they climbed the rest of the way back up to city level. "Maybe later we can check it out. I get out of work at four…" He checked his watch. "That's about six hours from now." He sighed. "That's a while, isn't it?" He grimaced a little. "Here." He reached into the pocket of his pants, frowned, then reached into the other one. His face lit up as he pulled his fist out. He held it out and opened it, to reveal five pokéballs. "These are Asthma, Nido, Nida, Jester, and Bloom. Asthma, the Weezing, should be able to get you deeper into the canyon safely; Nido and Nida are my Nidos." He smiled. "Nido's a Nidorino, Nida a Nidoqueen. They're good for power-lifting, if you see anything half-hidden under a boulder or something. Jester's the Haunter - he can slip into the rock, look behind the walls and stuff. And Bloom…" He chuckled. "Bloom the Gloom will start to stink if she gets scared. She won't be much help, but I don't know which is her pokéball, so I'll give you her, too. Around four, send Asthma back up here to get me to you, okay?"

"Fossil-hunting is a good a way to spend the day as any," Ivonar agreed, accepting the pokéballs. She had left all but one of her own pokéballs back at the Pokécenter, but her belt was still around her waist: she quickly slipped the pokéballs into all but the third pouch, which still held Manx's pokéball. "We'll see you around four."

Zan nodded, then frowned. "Be careful down there," he said. "If you think up here's treacherous, you can bet it'll only be worse down there. Stay together, and if things look at all dangerous, have Asthma get you out of there. What Pokémon do you have?"

Ivonar shook her head. "We left all but Manx back at the Pokémon Center."

"We don't have any that would be real useful in digging," Remmy added. "Nothing super-powerful or anything."

"What about Fairie?" Ivonar asked him. "She lived how long in Mount Moon? Maybe she has… I don't know, some kind of skill that'll be helpful." Remmy shrugged: he had no way of knowing how old his Clefairy was. "Maybe she can help us find some stuff."

"Maybe our Zubats, too…"

Ivonar shook her head. "They're good for caves, but an open canyon?"

Zan chuckled. "You guys do what you want, so long as it involves me getting my Pokémon back. I really have to head back. Janice is a snitch, and if I'm a nanosecond late she's going to make my day miserable. I'll see you two later."

*

An hour later found Manx back at the Pokémon Center, and Ivonar clinging for dear life to the larger portion of a Weezing as she hung at least two thousand feet in the air, with nothing to catch her except jagged gray-black rock.

For something that weighed less than twenty-five pounds, Asthma was quite strong. Already it had brought Remmy to the bottom of Tier Canyon, and now, not even winded (but, as its name implied, wheezing just the same), it lowered Ivonar quickly but smoothly toward the deserted floor of the mining hole.

A few moments after that hour, Ivonar was only too glad to get her feet on solid ground again, not far from the rusted ruins of what once may have been a staircase. "Thanks," she told the Weezing, giving its rubbery body a friendly pat with one hand as she pulled Q out of her jacket with the other. Since they were pretty sure it was a ground Pokémon, they had agreed that it might be useful, somehow.

Asthma smiled as best it could with its grimacing mouths. "Wheeze," it replied, blushing a little.

Remmy reached into one of his pockets, pulling out a pokéball. "Come on out, Fairie," he said. The ball opened, letting out the pixie-like Pokémon.

"You too, Jester," Ivonar said, pulling the pokéball out of the fourth pouch in her belt. It had taken her a few tries to find the ball that held Asthma, so she knew which balls held all but Bloom and Nido. "Start looking through the walls of the canyon for anything interesting, like bones, and stuff." With a flare of light, the large Haunter burst from its ball, grinned an almost evilly mischievous grin at Ivonar, then slid through the nearest wall, out of sight.

"You know," Ivonar said, addressing Remmy, "somehow I find it hard to trust Jester."

"With a name like that, I guess it probably likes jokes," Remmy replied. He frowned a little, giving the bottom of one of his shoes a disgusted look. He picked up a rock to scrape whatever had gotten stuck on his sneaker off.

"I just hope it doesn't decide to try some out on us," Ivonar said, frowning a little. She looked toward the rock through which the Haunter had disappeared, but there was no sign of it. "Let's start looking."

They wandered around for about half an hour, staying within each other's sight, but otherwise going where they wanted. Ivonar, Q at her heels, started almost straight out from the wall, looking as closely as she could at the ground she walked on. At one point she paused, crouching down, but what she thought might have been a footprint turned out to be nothing more than an air bubble in the slightly mucky ground in that particular area. While she was crouched, Q jumped onto her shoulder; she cringed at the mucky footprints that it put on her jacket, but didn't scold it. When she was a good distance away, she looked up, and whistled.

The canyon, in spite of its enormous depth, was only a few miles long; it would be possible to walk from one end to the other in a few hours. That, and the haze that firmly hid any view of the world above, gave the deserted place the same feeling as an empty closet - bare, unnatural, almost claustrophobic.

The only sign of civilization was a large building that seemed built directly into the eastern rockface. Rather than being an actual building, however, it looked as if it had been a cave whose mouth was covered with the front of an impressive public library. Thin columns of rock decorated the front of it; the entrance seemed oddly small. The overhang on which she, Zan, and Remmy had been perched an hour before really _was_ the top of the building. Three large letters were carved into the rockface, just below where they had been sitting: GYM.

"Wow," she murmured, not knowing what else to say.

"Q," Q agreed. To keep its balance while holding onto the bar forced it to hug the back of Ivonar's head with its free paw. The other used the bar to point toward the abandoned gym. "Q?"

She tickled it under its chin, not knowing how to answer its question, considering she had no idea what the question was. She sighed softly, then returned to walking around, staring intently at the ground.

Remmy stayed close to the eastern wall, following after Fairie, who hopped from rock to rock, glancing curiously here and there. Asthma floated a few feet above him, glancing every once in a while in Ivonar's direction to make sure she was all right.

After the first half-hour, Ivonar headed back in Remmy's direction, still watching the ground carefully, but still getting very bored very quickly. "Any luck?" she shouted at him.

He shook his head. "And Jester's still gone," he replied.

"If we've lost it, Zan's going to kill us."

"Probably not. He was the one who said it'd be helpful."

At that moment, the Haunter slipped out of the rocks, giving each of them a pointed look, as if to demand how they could question its helpfulness. Then it chuckled, and pointed to the rockface a few feet behind Remmy. "Haunt, haunt-haunt-haunt," it laughed, tapping one claw-like finger against the rock. "Haunt!"

"In there, huh?" Remmy asked it.

"Haunt!" it agreed.

"Nido, Nida, come out!" Ivonar said, patting her belt. Obediently, two flares of light emerged from the pokéballs, forming into two impressively large Pokémon. Then a third flare emerged, one that formed into a much smaller Pokémon. "And… um… hi, Bloom."

The Gloom looked at her through her narrowed eyes. "Gloom," she murmured, hurt.

"It's okay if you're out for awhile," Ivonar assured her, gingerly patting the petals on the plant Pokémon's head. "It isn't fair if all the others have some fun, is it?"

"Gloom!" Bloom agreed, giving Ivonar's leg a quick hug.

"Nido, Nida," Remmy said, looking at the other two Pokémon, "see where Jester is? Could you… very carefully… start digging there? We think there might be something important back there."

Nido roared his agreement, and looked at the Haunter. Jester spoke some quick words, after which the Nidorino charged forward, ramming his head into the side of the canyon. Rocks fell from the impact. Remmy hurried to stand closer to Ivonar, out of the way. When the Nidorino backed away, the Nidoqueen stepped forward, picking up the rocks he had knocked out of the wall and throwing them aside, clearing the way for his next charge.

"I guess Jester told them where it is," Ivonar said.

"Guess so," Remmy agreed, as Nido began his second charge. 

*

Ivonar yawned as she leaned against Remmy. Both were sitting on a cold rock, using each other to prop themselves up. Q dozed fitfully in Ivonar's lap as Bloom sat on the ground, moping. Asthma had floated upward, almost out of sight; it was time for him to wait for his trainer. "Do you think they're almost there?" she muttered. "I mean, they've been at it for hours."

"I'm surprised Nido doesn't have a headache yet," Remmy said, as the Nidorino rammed into the canyon yet again.

Over the last few hours, the three Pokémon were still at it - Jester floating at the mouth of the small cave the other two had carved out, occasionally offering some suggestion; Nido ramming into the wall; and Nida throwing the rocks that fell out of the way.

"Ivonar!"

The two trainers looked up at the vague shout from above. Asthma was descending rapidly with a familiar passenger literally sitting on its larger part, his arm threaded through the small, tube-like part of the Weezing that connected them. "Ivonar!" Zan shouted again, urgency in his voice. "You have to get back up there, quick!"

"What?" She stood up quickly, grabbing Q before she spilled it on the ground. Remmy got up as well, but more slowly. "Why?" she shouted back.

"It's your Psyduck!"

Ivonar felt her stomach tie itself in a knot. "What?"

Zan jumped off the Weezing before it had descended the entire way, landing in a crouch. "You have to get back to the Pokémon Center right away," he said. "Nurse Joy found out from somebody we'd gone down here earlier, and caught me about to meet you. Hurry." Without hesitation, he gripped Ivonar under the armpits, lifting her up. Asthma got under her, and Zan put her on him, sitting down. "Loop your arm in there," he said, pointing, "because Asthma's going to take you up as quick as he can. Good luck."

Ivonar didn't even answer. "Go!" she told the Weezing. Immediately, it began ascending again, far more quickly than it had brought her down. She looped her arm through the handle-like part, as Zan had told her: while sitting on the Weezing was hardly uncomfortable, its rubber-like body was so smooth, she'd nearly slipped right off.

It took Ivonar a moment to realize it, but she discovered that the Weezing was going up at an angle. Instead of taking her straight up, he was taking her more toward one end of the canyon. With a start, she realized he was taking her directly to the Pokémon Center. The knot in her stomach tightened.

Q clung to her jacket for dear life, nearly forgotten.

*

Ivonar raced into the Pokémon Center, Q still attached to her jacket, Asthma hurrying to keep up with her. "What's wrong?" she demanded of no one, the moment she was through the door. "Nurse Joy, where are you? What's wrong?"

The nurse appeared almost immediately, a pained look on her face. "Miss Marain…" she began, her voice gentle.

Ivonar shook her head, as if to disagree with whatever the nurse had yet to say. "No," she whispered. Then, louder, "No! No, he's okay, right?"

Nurse Joy grimaced a little. "I gave Nuisance a strong sedative to help him sleep, in spite of how powerful his headache was. It should have worn off hours ago… I tried to find you, but I had no way of going down into the canyon…"

"What do you mean, _should_ have?" Ivonar demanded, fighting back tears.

The nurse looked away. "He was fighting so hard," she replied. "When you brought him in, he seemed so determined to pull through. But… it's like he's just given up. I… I don't think he's going to wake up."

Ivonar stared at her blankly, unable to accept what she was hearing, but, at the same time, believing every word. "Can… can I see him?" she asked softly.

The nurse nodded. "Come with me." She led the way into the back portion of the Center, passed rooms with water Pokémon in small aquariums, fire Pokémon in oxygen tents, and grass Pokémon in mulch. They passed several closed doors, of rooms with recovering patients resting quietly. Finally, Nurse Joy opened one of the closed doors, holding it open for Ivonar. "I'll leave you alone," she murmured.

Ivonar stared at the scene before her. "Oh…" was all she managed to say. Nothing else seemed appropriate, or necessary.

Nuisance lay in a small bed on his back, his usually cheerful, if blank, eyes closed, his generally friendly expression contracted into something foreign, an unnamed expression related to, but not being, pain. His skin was faded to a sickly, almost greenish color. A pair of tubes was thread into his nostrils, feeding extra oxygen to his lungs. Some wires were attached to him with medical tape - one to each of his temples and four to his chest. The ones attached to his temples led to one machine, whose monitor showed a line leaping up and down to the beat of a frantic sound akin to a fast-forwarded busy signal. The others were attached to a different monitor, which had three lines on its - two identical and barely waving, and one whose unmistakable heart rhythm beat unnaturally slow.

Ivonar, Q still on her shoulder and Asthma still following her, went in. The nurse closed the door behind them.

*

Gone.

After all he had done, all he had fought for… she was gone.

He remembered quite clearly the battle he had fought - the battle he thought he had won.

What had happened? Had she brought that creature back? Had he failed in his attempt to unite them? Was she back under that foul little brat's spell?

Briefly, memories of his own, past master forced themselves upon him - memories of yelling, mostly, and concentration lost and gained. Never once had his first master hit him: no, that was not in that master's nature. That master was too smart to think that beating was the best way to train him. No - that master had known words hurt him more than any blow ever could.

He remembered, too, the other one - the one who evolved before him, the one who had stayed when he himself was thrown away. They had been close, they two. Still he wondered what had happened to him afterwards. They hadn't known why their master wanted them to evolve…

The other, he had realized, had been weaker than he. While he wanted a master who was pleased with him, the other had been content with simply pleasing the master they had. He had been the stronger of the two, in so many ways. He hadn't evolved, while the other had.

But the loneliness, when his former master had discarded him… those horrible, endless days without a single familiar voice… how he wished he had evolved then. The master's voice usually wasn't very kind, but it was familiar. It wouldn't have left him out in the open, alone, lost… afraid…

Then there was the boy, for that week or so… the boy, too, was unkind, but his actions were based more on his youth than any real disappointment with him. The boy could not help being immature, for he was only acting his age.

So clearly, he remembered the day, one of the days he had been trapped in the boy's room… the last day of that imprisonment. He remembered the shriek that nearly set his powers off, it was so loud, so painful… and so laden with pain. The noise, the pounding, of something falling, hitting, tumbling down the stairs he had so recently been smuggled up. The boy had run from the room… and didn't come back for hours…

When he did come back, he had shoved him out of the room, as he was too heavy for the boy to lift. The boy shoved him across the hallway, into the room opposite…

…and that was the first time he met her.

He remembered his astonishment at how bruised the girl had been. Bruises marked her bare arms and forehead, her neck and the shoulder he could see. One leg was encased in a husk, the other as bruised as the rest of her.

She'd glared at him - no, not at him, he'd realized, but the boy. _Then_ she had looked at him, with astonishment.

The first words he ever heard her speak were, "What are you doing with _that_?!"

The first few days with her were awkward, for him. She was moody from her injuries. He slept on the floor, or in a chair. Then, one night, he heard her whimpering. When he came over to see what was wrong, she whispered to him - her first words to him, directly - "Go away. My leg really hurts." He didn't know what to do about that: he just stood there, trying to look as sympathetic as he could. Finally, she slid away from the edge of the bed, and patted the space next to her. "Fine," she'd told him. "Don't just stand there staring at me."

Cautiously - since the boy had scolded him any time he tried getting onto _his_ bed - he did as he was told. One she'd gotten him to lie facing away from her, she put her arms around him, hugging him. She started whimpering again, at the pain, hugging him tighter.

That was how his nights were spent for the next few months - beside her, being hugged. Some nights, she slept soundly; others, she would just talk to him about nothing in particular. There were other nights she whimpered, and still others in which she wept herself to sleep, burying her face in his neck so no one else would hear.

But she never punished him. Never once did she yell, or scold. She simply let him be what he was - addled, but affectionate. Distracted, most of the time, and occasionally downright stupid, but that was who he was and she accepted it. 

Then the cast came off her leg, and she didn't spend nearly as much time with him. But nights still found her in the same bed. Now that the cast was off, however, she started to roll over more, and he found it impossible to lay next to her. Finally, one night, he went to lie on her feet instead, where he wouldn't be hit with a stray shoulder in the middle of the night.

The night after, she sat up when he went to lie on her feet instead of next to her again. "What's wrong?" she'd asked him, sounding hurt. He'd stared at her, surprised that she would notice the change, only to be surprised at himself for being surprised.

Somehow, by some miracle, he had found her, a master who did not care if he did not evolve, or berate him for doing things he did not know were wrong: he had found a master pleased with _him_, not what he did.

And now… she was gone.

Gone.

All he had now was an intense pain, more intense than he had ever felt before. A pain that was completely useless to him as a source of his power. He could think more clearly than normal, but he couldn't concentrate at all. All he was aware of - all he could think about - was how she wasn't here, how she was gone, how he would never see her again. How he would lie here, trapped, half between awake and asleep with pain so incredible only his chemically-induced stupor kept him from screaming out loud, without her to make it all worth while.

Where was the point in that?

Why should he fight against that pain if she wasn't there to fight it with him, as he had been there for her?

Vaguely - so vaguely - he was aware of what went on outside the pain he had hidden himself away in. He heard the door to the room he was in open, heard the woman who had tried to help him speak. For a moment, he thought he heard her voice… but no, she was gone. She was far away now. He had failed her. She would never come for him again, not so long as that creature held her against her unaware will. The door closed again, leaving him alone once more.

But… no, not alone. There were footsteps. Not the woman's… the woman's sounded different. The footsteps stopped, so near… numbly, from far away, he felt a hand gently brush against his cheek. Then he heard another sound… a familiar sound, from so long ago…

Again he remembered when her leg was encased in the healing cast, when she hugged him at night. Again he remembered those nights, when she buried her face in his neck…

That was the sound.

It was the sound of her weeping.

Was it just the memory… or… was she… here?

He pulled out of the pain, forcing himself against it. It swallowed him, ravaging his mind, but he ignored it, too intent to discover the truth.

The sound was louder, it seemed, but really it wasn't. He just heard it better… yes, he really _did_ hear it!…

He opened his mouth, to find his throat parched and dry. Weakly, he whispered, Is it… really… you? 

*

"Ssss…iiiii?"

Ivonar looked up, her eyes flying open. Tears streamed down her face and blurred her vision, but still… had she imagined it? "Nuisance?" she whispered.

Slowly… so slowly… his eyes cracked open. He turned his head, just slightly, in her direction. "Psy?" he whispered again hoarsely, his voice less slurred.

"Nuisance?" she said again. She swallowed painfully, reaching over the rail separating them to touch his face again. "Can you hear me?"

He looked at her a long moment, seemingly oblivious to the wires attached to him or the tubes up his nostrils. "Psy…" he whispered again, smiling just faintly. He peacefully closed his eyes. He took a deep breath, letting it out in a gentle sigh.

On the monitors, the frantic beeping from the first machine remained unchanged. But on the other, the two identical lines took a leap upward when he took his deep breath, and picked up their pace. The heart rhythm, though it remained steady, quickened as well.

Ivonar looked down at him, smiling in relief. Then, she sat in a chair in the corner of the room, and cried.

Asthma hung silently in the air, knowing better than to make a sound. Q dropped its bar into her lap, and hugged her loosely around the neck.

*

After Ivonar managed to collect herself, and Nurse Joy had managed to convince herself of Nuisance's complete turnaround, they realized it was getting late, and that Zan and Remmy were stuck in the bottom of Tier Canyon until they sent Asthma down to get them. They hurried outside with the Weezing, letting it drift down into the canyon. "Remmy's probably starving," Ivonar said. "He's been down there most of the day, and all we had to eat all day was a little breakfast."

"You're not hungry?" the nurse asked.

Ivonar chuckled dryly. "After having the fright of my life and witnessing a miracle? How could I possibly think about _food_?"

A couple minutes later, the Weezing returned, without a passenger. "_Wheeeeeeeeze_, wheeze-wheezing!" he intoned, his voice like that of an out-of-tune bagpipe. "_Wheeeeee_-zing!"

"He says they want you to come down right away," the nurse translated for Ivonar, "and to bring… Q?"

Ivonar smiled a little as she picked up the little Pokémon, tucking it into her jacket before the nurse could get a good look at it. "Our… um… Cubone," she said quickly.

"Oh." Nurse Joy frowned. "Why does your Cubone wear a pot on its head?"

Ivonar shrugged as she sat down on the Weezing. Sitting on it was a much easier way to ride it than hugging it. "Just because," she replied vaguely. "We all have our quirks."

"I'll go check on Nuisance again before I do my evening rounds of the other patients," Nurse Joy told her. "I'll see you later!"

Ivonar gave her a small wave just before the Weezing sped down into the canyon. Soon she could see Nida leaning against the canyon wall just outside of the cave she and Nido had made, her head lowered against her chest as she took a nap. Nido was rolled into a ball near her, with Bloom curled up on top of him. It wasn't until she was closer that she saw Jester, floating just beside Nida; she had mistaken it for the Nidoqueen's shadow.

As Asthma slowed down to let her off, Jester opened its eyes, and gave her one of its eerie grins. "Haunt, haunt!" it greeted her, pointing into the cave. Then it held its sides and laughed loudly, as if at some joke. She spared it a brief, skeptical look as she jumped to the ground, pulling Q out of her jacket before going into the freshly dug cave.

Inside, Remmy, Zan, and Fairie sat together, the two boys talking excitedly. Zan had a flashlight. At the sound of her approach, Zan shone it at her, blinding her for a moment. "Ow!"

"Sorry." He turned the flashlight up, shining it under his chin, then grinned in an eerily talented mimicry of Jester. "Have you come to see our discovery?" he chanted. Then he lowered the flashlight. "How's the Psyduck?" he asked seriously.

"He'll be okay," she replied, just as she had when he had asked her so many hours before. "He's just sleeping right now."

"What was wrong?" Remmy asked.

Ivonar shook her head; she didn't want to talk about it.

Understanding, Zan stood up. "We asked you to bring Q for a reason," he said, pointing the flashlight toward the ceiling of the cave to provide the most light. "We think we found what it is."

"I told him," Remmy said quickly, before Ivonar could ask how he knew.

"Oh," she said.

"We still don't know _what_ he is," Zan continued, "but we think we finally found something of its species. A some-odd great-ancestor, probably." He turned the flashlight toward the back of the cave. "Look at all familiar?"

*

He stared, eyes wide. His mouth fell open as the bar in his paw clattered to the ground.

There, a little over his head, was a skeleton.

Its physical condition was extraordinary - nearly perfect. The petrified bones stood out starkly against the dark rock holding them in place.

The creature had been less than two feet tall and upright, with a single talon per foot. Its arms had been short, ending in small hands with four tiny stubs which might have, either in its ancestors or descendants, been developed fingers, and a single short, opposable claw. The skull had a short muzzle, filled with teeth that were short and sharp in the front, molars in the back. Its one visible eye socket looked almost oversized compared to the skull. The skull was smooth, save for the ridge over the eye socket and two jutting horns near the back. Its spine was arched oddly in the middle, suggesting that the creature had probably died from a broken back, and ended in a short, curved tail.

"Wow," he heard the girl murmured softly. "It looks like the entire thing!"

"I think it is," the newer boy agreed. "Do you know how much a full fossil is worth?"

"Must be millions!"

There was a slight pause before the newer boy continued. If he had looked, he would have seen him nod. "And if there's one skeleton, you can almost bet there'll be _more_ fossils." If he had looked now, he would have seen the grin come over the boy's face, but he was too busy staring at the skeleton trapped in stone. "I _knew_ it! Given _any_ problem, the answer is usually in plain site. That's how I _knew_ the answer to saving Periwinkle City _had_ to be in the canyon. I would never have thought to look for fossils… how did you _find_ this one? It's fifteen feet into the rock!"

"We sent Jester into the walls to look, just like you told us to," the other boy replied.

"Then Nido and Nida started digging," the girl added.

"And you, me, and Bloom finished up," the boy finished.

"Bloom?" the girl echoed.

"She helped us chisel away the rock when Jester told us any more ramming or digging by the Nidorans would damage what was back here," the newer boy told her.

The girl chuckled. "Between you and your Pokémon, Zan, you could probably search the whole canyon!"

The newer boy laughed in agreement. "I'm going to," he said. "If I can find a couple more fossils, like this one… Periwinkle City could probably afford to have the entire city cleaned up. No more smog over the canyon, no more Pokémon in the basements and attics, no more high air-conditioning bills. We could actually see the other side of the canyon when we looked across, actually see when it was going to rain, actually see the sun rise like it did today, without having to leave our homes." If Q had looked _this_ time, he would have seen the boy smirk. "You could almost say that finding these fossils could preserve our city."

As the others groaned, he took a step closer to the skeleton. He pushed the pot on his head farther back, letting his horns keep it on as he stared.

Was that _really_ what he looked like… on the inside?

He looked at his mitten-like hand, unbroken but for where his thumb jutted out of it. He looked up again at the skeleton in the wall.

Was that… _really_… him?

It was then that he did what anyone who finds a skeleton identical to their own under thousands of feet of rock might do. What he did was perfectly understandable, given the situation.

That was why it was really strange when the humans were surprised when he fainted.

__

Pallet Pair #8 is dedicated to the memory of Charlie "Tunafish" Kelly, a dear friend who passed away April 10, 1994. In 1985, he was a small black kitten who was found abandoned in a shopping cart when he was barely weaned, and brought to a veterinarian's office by a stranger who left neither name nor money to care for him. He stayed in a cage at the vet's until my parents brought me there, especially to see him. I had always wanted a cat, and the vet had said that the orphaned young tom was very good-natured. He was the only unclaimed animal they had, but, as a joke, the vet asked me which cat I wanted. By some eerie coincidence, I pointed right at the cage in the corner with the little black cat, and exclaimed, "That one!" We had him neutered and declawed (as he was an indoor cat meant for a three-year-old), and he remained my best friend for nearly twelve years, insisting on sleeping on my bed every night.

_Charlie's one major problem was that he was plagued with several illnesses over the course of his life. After one risky surgery, he hadn't come out of the anesthesia, and the vet was certain he wasn't going to. I was allowed into the room to say goodbye. While I cried and petted him, Charlie woke up. He lived several more years after that, surviving at least two other surgeries and even a broken paw._

_ "Miracles", like Charlie's recovery as well as Nuisance's _do_ happen. The same presence of loved ones that helps hospitalized humans to heal faster and coma victims wake up works just as well for animals, too._

_If you have a pet, give them a hug for me (unless they're a bird, because most birds don't like hugs, or a fish, 'cause hugging a fish is just a bad idea). It might save their life someday._


	9. Default Chapter Title

**__**

A Pallet Pair #9:

So Close, So Far

__

[ Author's Note: I wish to apologize for the extended delay. This semester I'm carrying extra courses, which means a heavier workload, which means less free time. I was a little worried that my frustration with that would show in this, but I think I managed to keep up my usual quality of work.

S. "Veravine" Kelly ]

"Y'know," Ivonar said, shifting the right strap of her backpack farther up her shoulder, "I kinda miss Zan."

The morning was overcast, a far cry from the blinding sunlight of the past few weeks. It was like being in Periwinkle City all over again, but easier to breathe.

"He was cool," Remmy agreed, even as he shoved a bush out of his way. He walked carefully, trying not to step on the unidentified Pokémon who insisted on walking ahead of him. "Just our luck Route Five's closed, huh?"

"No," Ivonar retorted, shaking her head firmly. "That's _my_ luck. You have the good luck, remember? I'm responsible when things go wrong."

"I'll keep that in mind," Remmy replied dryly, letting go of the bush a moment too early, trying not to laugh at the grunt that escaped his partner as she blocked it.

"_WAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH!!!!!!!_"

Both trainers jumped at the harsh wail. Glancing at each other in silent agreement, they barely hesitated before racing toward its source, trusting Manx, Chia, and the Eevees to be able to follow. Q, as it had been for days, was right ahead of them.

The source wasn't too hard to find: a little girl, her hair the likeness of a two-tailed Rattata with its curl-ended pigtails, bawling twin waterfalls beside a lake not so much unlike the one at which Remmy had an odd encounter with two somewhat odd people…

"Hey, what's wrong?" Ivonar asked, crouching beside her. She slipped off her pack quickly, to keep from toppling over.

The girl's tears eased as she looked at Ivonar. Wiping her eye with one hand, she pointed to the lake with the other. "Mollie won't come back!" she wailed.

Looking over the water, Ivonar frowned. She didn't see anything. "Mollie?" she echoed.

"_Mollie_!" the girl whimpered, pointing again at the water. "My _Mollie_ won't come back!"

"Over to the left," Remmy said, slipping his own pack off. "Near the far end."

Ivonar frowned again, squinting. Understanding registered on her face as she saw something floating in the water - not a creature, it seemed, but a small blue ball. She mentally shrugged; when she was very little, she'd had a blanket she called Harmy. No reason that she could remember - she just _did_. A ball named Mollie? Who was she to say anything?

"We can get Mollie back for you," Ivonar said, smiling. "Would you like us to get Mollie back?" The little girl nodded. Ivonar reached into the fourth pouch on her belt, pulling out a pokéball. "Come on out, Poe!"

Remmy reached into the pocket of his jacket, pulling out a pokéball of his own. "Drake," he said, smiling.

In unison, the two water Pokémon appeared from their pokéballs. The girl's eyes widened, and she clapped her hands. "Ooh!" she cried. "You have Pokémon too!"

"Hey, Remmy, how about a race?" Ivonar suggested, grinning. "Drake verses Poe. Who can get Mollie first?"

"What's the winner get?" Remmy asked, rubbing his Dratini's head. Drake trilled.

Ivonar looked down at Poe, whose eyes narrowed into a smile. "Hmm… winner… doesn't have to cook tonight."

"Big deal," Remmy snorted. "Neither of us minds cooking. How about the loser has to carry the winner's pack for the rest of the day?"

"Are you kidding?" Ivonar laughed. "Neither of us can do that!" Remmy laughed too.

The little girl pouted. "What about Mollie?" she asked softly.

Ivonar grinned. "Loser has to carry Fluffball for the rest of the day," she said, turning her grin toward the fiercely independent, soft-furred Eevee. Fluffball glared at her. Manx snickered, earning himself a glare as well. Sweetie curled her tail around her trainer's neck as she giggled. The only ones who didn't seem to find it funny, in fact, were the little girl, and Fluffball.

Remmy looked up, considering, and then nodded. "Fine by me. Ready Drake?" The Dratini trilled, slithering to the edge of the lake.

"Ready Poe?" The Poliwhirl made no sound as it stood next to the Dratini, its moist body tense. Ivonar looked at the little girl. "Wanna do the honors?"

The little girl bit her lip, and then smiled a little. She raised her hands, then swung them down again. "_Go!_"

The two water Pokémon leaped into the water, Drake with near silence, Poe with a slurping splash. They tore through the water, neither showing any hint of falling behind the other.

"Hey, Eevee," Remmy said.

"Yeah?"

"With this race… what do we do if there's a tie? We _both_ carry her?"

"_Both_ of them can't bring the ball back."

"Ball?" The girl pouted. "Mollie isn't a _ball_!" They looked down at her. She crossed her arms, scowling. "Mollie's my Marril!"

Ivonar and Remmy look at each other blankly. Then, in unison, they whirled toward the water.

"Drake!" Remmy shouted.

"Poe!" Ivonar yelled.

Caught up in the thrill of competition, the water Pokémon didn't hear them. They raced for the small blue ball they could see, just five yards away… four… two… none…

The water beneath the ball exploded upward as the creature whose tail it was attached to burst to the surface. "_Marril_!" it screeched angrily, before its eyes widened, realizing what was about to happen.

Looking back, what happened next was hilarious… but at the time, all three trainers screamed in terror at the three-way collision of very surprised and somewhat horrified water Pokémon.

For a few short eternities… er, moments… only bubbles could be seen where the three Pokémon had collided, all three having sunk below the surface, stunned. Then, the blue ball reappeared, followed by the Marril itself, rubbing its stomach angrily… then Drake, a dazed glaze in its beautiful, royal violet eyes… and finally Poe, who used a glove-like hand to rub at a lump on his right eye. For a long time, the three Pokémon glared silently at each other, until; finally, they burst out bickering.

"This isn't good," Remmy muttered.

"I want Mollie back!" the little girl wailed, stamping her foot. She scowled. "Daddy wouldn't get me a Butterfree 'cause he said it'd be too strong," she grumbled. "He said it wouldn't listen to me. But Mollie never listens, either!"

Ivonar frowned. "How'd you get your Marril?"

The little girl pouted. "I found her on the playground. I gave her half my lunch and she followed me home. But all she does is eat. And Mommy don't like her, 'cause she's allergic."

"Your dad won't let you have a Butterfree because he thinks it'd be too strong, and your mom doesn't like your Marril because she's allergic to it?" Ivonar echoed. "Sheesh!" she added under her breath. She paused. "But your dad's right. I train with a few Pokémon who are too strong for me. It's really hard, even if they love and respect you." Manx snorted, as if taking the comment personally.

"I guess," the girl muttered, flopping on the ground.

After awhile, Ivonar and Remmy sat down as well. Manx curled up into a ball; Q lay down, leaning back on the Persian, and pulled the small pot it wore on its head over its eyes. Chia kept Fluffball and Cole amused by waving her tail over their heads. Ivonar let Nuisance out of his pokéball and hugged him in her lap. Remmy held Static to keep the Eevee from going into the water, to prevent him from getting involved in the quarrel. "How long have they been arguing?" he sighed.

Ivonar checked her watch. "Ten minutes." She reached back into a pocket in her backpack, pulling out a half-empty pill bottle. "Come on, Nuisance," she murmured kindly, tapping one of the pills onto her palm. The Psyduck stayed silent. "I _know_ you don't like the pills," Ivonar sighed, "but it's for your own good."

"Seh," Nuisance muttered tonelessly. He had hardly been himself, since they had left Periwinkle City. The medicine left him lethargic and withdrawn; he spent most of the time out of his pokéball with his fingers pressed firmly to his temples, silently dealing with the after-effects of his battle with the Abra.

Ivonar hated seeing him like this. She missed the vacant smile that had been missing, and the lopsided waddle he couldn't use since he could barely concentrate enough to stand up, much less walk. She missed having him sleep on her feet at night. She gave him a little squeeze, and then held the pill near his bill. "Come on, Nuisance," she murmured again. "Just a couple more weeks of this, and you'll be as good as new." The Psyduck obediently opened his mouth, letting her put the pill on his tongue, and closed it again.

"What's wrong with your Psyduck?" the little girl asked.

Ivonar put the pill bottle away, and then returned to hugging the yellow Pokémon. "He got into a battle with a stronger Pokémon," she replied. "He won, but he got really hurt. He's still getting better."

"He doesn't _look_ better."

Ivonar rested her chin lightly on Nuisance's head, staring out over the water. "He's getting there," she replied quietly, but didn't sound like she was convinced of it. She lifted her head again. "Hey… looks like they settled their differences." She looked at her watch. "It took them twenty minutes, but still…"

Drake slithered out of the water and curled itself into a ring around its trainer. Remmy took its pokéball back out, put the Dratini back inside, and stuck the ball back into the pocket of his jacket.

The Poliwhirl and the Marril came out together, the Poliwhirl looking cross, the Marril seeming puzzled. Ivonar fished into the fourth pouch in her belt, trying to get Poe's pokéball, but she couldn't get her fingers into the pouch and hold Nuisance on her lap, too. She put the Psyduck down beside her. Remmy stood up and wiped the dirt off his jeans. Static scampered quickly into the water.

The little girl jumped to her feet, grinning. "Mollie!" she cried, rushing forward. She scooped up the damp mouse, squeezing it so tightly that it squealed. Manx, Q, and Fluffball cringed in sympathy.

"Marril!" Mollie squealed, waving her short arms, her eyes squeezed shut. "Marril, _Marril_! _MARRIL_!" She squirmed, managing to get out of the little girl's arms. She fell, and then bounced, into a very surprised Remmy. She perched on his shoulder, gripping his forehead tightly. "_Marril_!" she whimpered again, burying her face in his hair.

"Um… hey!" Remmy said, lacking anything else to say. "What the…?"

The girl glared at him angrily. "That's _my_ Marril!" she snapped. "Give Mollie back!"

Ivonar grimaced. This was not looking pretty. The girl looked ready to blow up, Remmy was still trying to figure out how he had a Marril hugging his head, and the Marril looked like she had no intentions of letting go.

Then her eyes lit up. Quickly, she dug into her back pocket, pulling out something that, yet again, was proving its worth - her Pokédex. She tapped a few keys quickly, waited for a brief flash of light in the sixth pouch of her belt, and then picked up the pokéball that appeared at her feet. "Hey," she interrupted. The girl looked at her, startled. "I have an idea." The girl looked skeptical. "Well, I _think_ it's a good idea," Ivonar said, rolling the ball in her hands. "See, you want a Butterfree, and your mom's allergic to Mollie… right?"

The girl nodded slowly. "But Daddy says a Butterfree would be too strong for me."

Ivonar glanced at the Marril. Remmy looked back, uncertain of where she was going with this. Ivonar returned her gaze to the girl, and smiled gently. She crouched down, closer to her eye level. "Well," she began, "I caught a Caterpie, and I don't think I'll be battling with it. I'm sure it would love to be trained, but I don't think I'm going to." Her smile widened. "Caterpies evolve into Metapod, then into Butterfree… and I was thinking…"

The girl's eyes widened. "You wanna trade?!" she cried, clapping her hands eagerly.

"You have Mollie's pokéball?" Ivonar asked. The girl nodded. She reached into her pocket, pulling out a pokéball, then held it out. Ivonar took it, and placed the pokéball she was holding in the girl's hand. "That's my Caterpie. It doesn't have a name, but you can name it."

"Ooh!" The girl quickly pressed the button on the pokéball, releasing the small green insect. Immediately she scooped it up and squeezed it tight. "My very own Caterpie!"

The Caterpie, needless to say, was quite startled to go from its quiet pokéball to a bear hug, but after a moment, it trilled happily.

The girl relaxed her grip, then held the Caterpie out in front of herself. "You're my Caterpie!" she told it happily. "And I wanna name you… ummmm…" She looked thoughtful. The Caterpie hung in her two hands, its head cocked to the side, waiting patiently. "Umm…" The girl looked at Ivonar. "What's your name?"

Ivonar smiled a little. "I'm Ivonar."

The girl looked at the Caterpie again. "I'm going to name you… Ivy!" Out of reflex, Ivonar cringed. Remmy chuckled.

The Caterpie was quiet for a moment, and then trilled again. It swung its back half, getting its suction cup-like feet attached to the girl's arm. The girl squealed, surprised, and let it go. The Caterpie attached the rest of its legs to her arm, and then scurried up to her shoulder, where it rubbed its cheek against hers. The girl giggled. "Your legs tickle!" she squealed. She grinned at Remmy. "You be good, Mollie!"

Ivonar smirked. "Here." She tossed the pokéball in her hands to Remmy.

"Now wait a minute…" Remmy frowned as he caught the ball, and then prepared to throw it back.

"Don't you start," Ivonar cut him off. "I don't see Mollie hugging _my_ head." She grinned. "Besides, that was _your_ Caterpie, remember? I only caught it because you wouldn't!"

Remmy grinned. "Are we going to get into _that_ again?"

The little girl cuddled the Caterpie. "I have to show Daddy!" she said, hurrying off. "Come on, Ivy!"

Remmy sighed, and then gently removed the Marril from his shoulder. "What am I going to do with you?" he asked her.

Mollie looked at him blankly. "Marril?"

"Guess you go to Professor Oak," he said, frowning a little. "I mean, if you don't mind."

The Marril shrugged a little. "Marril, Marril."

"Okay." Remmy put her down, then held out her pokéball. "Back you go."

Ivonar scowled a little. "Hang on. Where's your Pokédex? I've got it in mine that I traded the Caterpie, but we have to input that Mollie's yours, not mine."

"It's in my bag. I'll get it." He put the Marril down.

"Koffing - _Smoke Screen_!"

"What?" Ivonar looked up - only to start gagging at the thick smog that filled her lungs. "Yuck! What- what's going on?!"

"Prepare for trouble!"

"And prepare to make it double!"

"Not those two again!" Remmy shouted. "OOF!"

"To protect the world from-"

"Remmy, you okay?"

"-devastation!"

"To un-"

"Somebody pushed me! Hey!"

"-within our… hey, stop interrupting us!"

"To denounce the evils of tru-"

"Ro!"

"-th and - _ow_! Knock it off! That's _me_!"

"Sorry, Jess, I couldn't see you! Usually the brats have gusted the smoke away by now!"

"Me_owth_! Let's just get out of here!"

"But the motto!"

"_Forget_ the motto!" Someone coughed. "I can't _breathe_ here!"

"Ro! Are you out? I can't see!" A shrill cry answered Ivonar. "Whirlwind this stuff out of here!"

The sound of heavily beating wings cut through the sound of their coughing. Slowly, Ivonar's vision cleared. She looked around as Ro landed beside her. Through the thinner smoke, she could see her partner on the ground not far away. "Remmy, what was that?" she coughed. "Where's Mollie? And Nuisance?" She looked around frantically. "Nuisance!"

Bubbles erupted from the lake, and those two water Pokémon, as well with Poe, appeared. "Marril!" Mollie chirped, getting out and shaking off. The Psyduck was slower to get out, and walked shakily, the Poliwhirl helping him.

"Where's-" Remmy burst out coughing as he stood up. Ivonar couldn't place it, but something about him looked wrong. "Where's Manx, and the Eevees?" he asked.

"I still got Sweetie," Ivonar said, rubbing the Eevee's head gently. "Where's Q? And Chia?"

"Q!" came a reply from the bushes. The unidentified Pokémon stumbled out, covering its gasping coughs with one mitten-like paw as it gripped the handle it carried in the other. It went immediately to retrieve the pot that lay on the ground where the Pokémon had been lying before the sudden attack. Manx followed after it, three small Eevees at his heels, Chia at theirs. Manx's ears were laid back as he growled softly.

"Good job, Ro." Ivonar pulled out three of her pokéballs, and returned her three Pokémon. "You sure you're okay?" she asked her partner.

"I'm okay," Remmy assured her, grimacing darkly. "But we have to find those guys, fast."

"What?" She looked around. "All the Pokémon are still here, and none of them seem hurt." Remmy tugged down his tee shirt and wiped some mud from his jeans. Ivonar frowned. "Hey, weren't you wearing your jacket?"

"They stole it," he snapped, wiping some mud off his arm as well. "That means they have two of my pokéballs. They have Mollie's, too, I think… I don't see it." He looked around, to be sure.

"They do?" Ivonar's eyes widened. "Which two?"

"I'm not sure about one…" He grimaced as he reached down, picking up Mollie, "… but the other one's Drake's."

*

Meanwhile, Team Rocket was busy clearing the backfired attack from their lungs as well.

"We didn't even get to finish the mo… maaaah…aaaa_choo_!" James whimpered.

"Quit yer whinin'!" Meowth snapped. "Which of youse guys got the Marril?"

His partners looked at him blankly.

Jessie snarled. "_You_ were the one who was supposed to grab it!" she snapped, whacking the cat. "While _we_ distracted them with the motto! Remember?!"

"How was I supposed to grab the stupid rat when I couldn't see my own nose!" Meowth snapped in reply. "I _did_ manage to get _this_ from the red-haired kid, though!" He held up a pokéball. "Let's see what we got!" He pressed the button with one claw.

With a _pop_, the pokéball snapped open - to reveal nothing inside.

"_Empty_?!" James sniffed, wrapping a green jacket more tightly around his shoulders. "You grabbed an _empty_ pokéball! Great going, Meowth!" He sneezed again.

"So? _You_ grabbed de kid's _jacket_!" Meowth threw the pokéball over his shoulder as he fought to deflect the blame from himself. "What'd you do _dat_ for?!"

"Because unlike _you_ two, I fell in that… thaaaaaa_aaa_-CHOO! - that stupid _lake_ when the twerp's Pikachu blasted us the last time, instead of in that _hay_stack!"

"If you'd landed in the hay_stack_, you'd be complaining about hay _fever_!" Jessie snapped. "We're supposed to steal _Pokémon_, not kid's _clothing_!"

"But I've got chills!" James sniffled, hugging the jacket around his shoulders more tightly. "It doesn't even fit," he whimpered, wiping his nose with his finger.

"Oh, for evil's sakes, use a _tissue_." Jessie cringed. "That's disgusting."

"We're all out," James muttered. "Maybe the kid has some…" He reached into one of the pockets of the jacket. "No… not there…" He sniffled again as he reached into the other pocket. "Ooh… nothing but…" He pulled his hand out. His eyes widened. "Pokéballs!" He grinned at his companions. "Look! The stupid kid left pokéballs in his pocket!"

"Probably more _duds_," Meowth sneered.

"Well… we could always use pokéballs…" James sighed. He pressed one of the buttons. He yelped as the ball snapped open, releasing…

"Raaaah?"

"Great!" Meowth snorted, glaring down at the purple Pokémon. "All that, and all we gots to show for it is a Rattata!"

The Rattata looked at him, his bright eyes wide, then at the others.

"Well, at least we gooo-_achoo!_-ot _something_," James muttered. He sniffled, then pressed the button on the other pokéball.

Again, the ball popped open, and a beam of light coalesced into another Pokémon… but this one was nearly six times longer than the Rattata, and the color of crystalline-clear water. It, too, looked about, confused. Its royal purple eyes settled on James.

James's eyes glittered. "It's… it's…" He gasped in delight. "It's the kid's Dratini!"

Jessie's and Meowth's jaws were too busy resting in the dirt for them to respond.

The Dratini trilled, looking up at him. Its eyes, full of fear, were heartbreaking.

James knelt down, closer to the Dratini's eye level. "It's a Dratini," he said again, awestruck. "I've… I've always wanted a Dratini…"

"Do… do you know how much the Boss is going to _love_ us?!" Meowth cried, having finally gotten his chin off the ground. "We got a Dratini!"

Jessie's face beamed as she bent down, grabbing the Meowth's paws. The two of them danced in circles, singing happily, "We got a Dratini! We got a Dratini!"

The Dratini looked around frightfully. It glared at the two celebrators, scowled darkly, then opened its mouth.

"No, _don't_!" James cried. It looked at him, startled, but its scowl returned. It opened its mouth again, and blasted him point-blank with a Water Gun attack, right in the face. He tumbled backwards with a yelp. "_Ooooow_," he moaned.

"None o' that!" Meowth hissed, giving the creature a sound cuff on the snout, his claws bared. The Dratini squealed in pain as three red parallel scratches appeared on its face. It glared at him, only to receive a Fury Swipes attack. The Dratini squealed again, its tail lashing in pain. "_You're_ not getting away so easy _this_ time!"

"Meowth!" James picked himself up slowly. "Stop it!"

Jessie frowned at him. "Don't go soft on us, James. Do you know how much this Dratini will _mean_ to us? We'll be the Boss's favorites for _years_!"

"Decades, even!" Meowth embellished. He glared furiously at the Dratini, but it showed no will to fight. Instead, it had its head bowed, its eyes clenched shut, waiting for further cuffs. He frowned a little, his claws starting to retract, but he forced himself not to do it. He had to concentrate on what was important. "This thing is our ticket to every'ting we've ever _dreamed_ of!" He scowled. "We'd better keep it in its pokéball, so it don't get any ideas!"

"Good idea," Jessie agreed, crossing her arms. "It's already attacked us more than enough times."

James grimaced a little, but they were right. "Return, Dratini." The red beam lanced out from the pokéball.

The Dratini darted left, avoiding the beam. It slithered between James's legs, slipped around Meowth, and squirmed out from between Jessie's hands. "_Get it!_" she shouted. "We can't let our ticket to _everything_ get away!"

The Dratini squealed, its voice a high trill. The Rattata looked at it as it dodged between the feet of the two humans and the upright Meowth. The mouse Pokémon chittered a quick reply, then raced off into the bushes.

"Get the rat too!" Meowth yelled as he lunged for the Dratini, only to smack right into Jessie's shin, tripping her. "It's going to get their trainer!"

"Forget the ra-OW!" Jessie grunted as she hit the ground. "James, grab that thing and let's keep moving!"

"It's too-too-taaaah-" James stumbled as the Dratini darted through his legs again, sneezing violently at the same time. The jacket he'd been hugging around himself fell off his shoulders as he fought to keep his balance. He lost the battle, falling to his knees.

The Dratini squealed in pain as James's left knee fell on the tip of its tail, but its cry was muffled as the jacket landed heavily on its head.

"Get back in your pokéball!" James cried, throwing his arm backwards and releasing the ball he held. The ball popped open, and the red beam of light sucked the Dratini back inside.

Team Rocket stayed where they were for a few moments - Jessie on her hands and knees, having half-way picked herself up; Meowth, on his stomach, legs splayed in four different directions; and James, sitting on the ground, having literally spun himself around when he threw the pokéball backwards.

"That's it?" Jessie said finally, breaking the silence. She sat back on her heels, then stood up.

James got up slowly, picking up the pokéball in one hand, the jacket in the other. "I… I guess so," he replied.

Meowth got all four feet under him before pushing himself onto his hind legs. "Let's get goin'," he said. "That Rattata'll get them trainers back on us."

The humans nodded. "Right," they agreed. Jessie added a quick, "Let's go," once again taking charge.

They started forward again, Meowth walking a little farther ahead, James lagging a little behind as he hugged the jacket around his shoulders again. "How come twerps get all the luck?" he asked suddenly. "I mean, one has that Pikachu, and the other had a Pikachu that evolved without a Thunder Stone… not to _mention_ the Dratini!"

Meowth laughed, making him jump. "Some luck!" the Pokémon sneered cheerfully. "He's not the one with a Dratini no more!"

James fingered the shrunken pokéball he'd put back in the jacket's pocket. To be honest, he had nowhere else to put it. It felt good in his hands… and besides, if he didn't keep it, one of the others might take it, and try to take all the glory for themselves. _He_ was the one who had grabbed the jacket. If anyone deserved the Boss's praise, it was him!

Besides, hadn't _his_ Koffing given them the cover they needed for _him_ to snatch the jacket?

Yes. This was _his_ victory. He smiled to himself. "Maybe he'll let me keep it," he muttered under his breath.

*

He kept his nose low to the ground, trying not to concentrate on how demeaning this would be if he stopped to think about it. He snorted a little, trotting a few feet farther ahead, then tried to pick up the scent again.

One comment… _one_ comment… from _any one of them_! - and he would sit down and that'd be the end of it. No way they would get away with having him do this, _and_ make fun of him for it! Absolutely _not_.

Chia looked at him, and smiled faintly. He snarled silently at her. Don't even think of saying _anything_, he growled softly. _Don't_. 

Don't think of saying what? she asked innocently. Her smile became more pronounced. I was just going to say how nice it was you're- 

Don't say _that_ either! he snapped impatiently, looking away. He could almost see her look of disapproval, even though he wasn't facing her direction. Let her disapprove. This was embarrassing enough without her gushing over it.

Beside him, Fluffball sniffed intently at the ground, too, as did Static. What are we looking for again? the stiff-furred Eevee asked.

Those meanies! Fluffball snapped impatiently. Can't you remember _anything_? 

Well, _sorry_, Static muttered, laying his ears back slightly.

Enough, both of you, he chuffed, snorting again. One of those humans had stepped in something foul. It only made this chore even worse. You're distracting me. 

Fluffball bristled. _I'm_ helping! she corrected him hotly, then went back to sniffing at the ground.

If he had still had his tail, it would have been lashing in sheer frustration at the unfairness of it all.

Sadly, even _his_ human had enough sense not to comment, so the search continued.

That worm is going to _owe_ me, he growled under his breath. And I should have _eaten_ that rat! 

The unidentified Pokémon turned to smirk at him. That's not very nice… he said.

I'm not in a very nice mood at the moment, he snarled in reply.

The other was about to reply, when his head jerked slightly. The pot he wore caught against the horns at the back of his head, keeping it from falling off. Something's coming, he said. Four feet, about my size. 

Manx heard it too. Static and Fluffball backed up, taking cover underneath him. The Pokémon ahead of him took a defensive stance. Chia's cheeks sparked as she lashed her tail, warning the Eevee behind her to stop. The humans held still, waiting to see what the problem was.

The running feet and rustle of bushes making way for a small body grew louder, until a purple torpedo pounced from the bushes, skidding to a stop just before slamming into the Pokémon with a pot on its head. "Rah!" the Rattata yelped in surprise, its bright eyes going wide.

Welcome back, breakfast, Manx sneered quickly. Where are the humans? 

Where'd you come from? Ratzy asked blankly, then shook off his surprise. They're this way, about a quarter of a mile ahead. You'd see them if there weren't all these bushes. Come on! They must still have Drake! He danced from foot to foot impatiently. Are you going to follow me or not? Come on! We have to help Drake! 

First of all, appetizer, _calm down_, Manx snapped. You'll do us no good if you don't! 

Can't you be nice for once? Chia chided him.

There is a time and a place for nice, Manx snapped. And it is wasted on what I would rather eat than talk to! 

Ratzy cringed, then glared at him. You can't eat me! he crowed. Your master caught me! We're bound- 

-and if you're going on about it, it's time to find those humans, Manx snarled. _Go!_

It really wouldn't hurt you to be nice once in a while, Chia murmured as the Rattata scampered ahead, the unidentified Pokémon just behind it.

I didn't eat him, did I? he retorted, then ran on ahead.

*

"Aaa…_choo_!" He sniffled, and wished for perhaps the thousandth time he had a tissue.

This victory would have been much more enjoyable, if he didn't feel so miserable…

He stared upward at the thinly veiled stars. The others had kicked him out of their small, pavilion-like tent… Jessie didn't want to catch his cold, and Meowth complained he couldn't sleep with him sneezing every five minutes.

Was it _his_ fault he'd landed in that lake? No!

It was so unfair.

He sighed, then shifted the pillow beneath his head. At least it wasn't raining - then it really _would_ have been unfair. But the clouds from the day had thinned into a mist-like covering over the sky. It was kind of pretty. If it weren't for the _principal_ of it all - and the cruel, icky cold he couldn't shake - he wouldn't have minded sleeping under the stars.

The brats hadn't caught them. Though the Rattata had gotten away, they hadn't seen the kids for hours. No doubt, they were still in the forest somewhere, going in circles.

He tried to imagine the scene tomorrow, when they got back to headquarters and showed the Boss their prize, but he couldn't - at least, not how he wanted to. Instead of hearing the Boss's praise, he just kept seeing pained, violet eyes, full of fear of what was to come. He tried to imagine asking the Boss if he could keep the Dratini, but try as he might, he couldn't even _imagine_ the Boss saying yes - that was how unlikely it was.

He sighed heavily. "But _I_ caught it!" he complained to no one. "At least, I _stole_ it! It's mine!"

He sneezed, then groaned slightly. "Forget a promotion…" he moaned. "All I want right now is some Nyquil. I'm never getting to sleep…" He sighed tiredly.

Finally, he sat up, looking toward the tent. There weren't any lights, and he could vaguely hear them both snoring. They were sound asleep, while he was miserable.

He reached under his pillow, pulling out the folded jacket. He reached into the pocket, smiling to himself as he felt the pokéball there. He took it out, and enlarged it. Putting the jacket aside, he held the ball in his hands for a few moments. He put it in one hand, and pretended to throw it. "Dratini, _go_!" he breathed. He grinned to himself, looking at the ball again. "That felt so _good_!" He giggled giddily. He pretended to throw it again. "Dratini, _go_!" He yelped when the ball opened this time. "No!" he cried. _No!_ I didn't _mean_ it!"

The creature coalesced, then looked about fearfully. For a moment, it looked confused, then glared at him angrily. It opened its mouth.

"No!" He cringed away, blocking his face with his hands. "Not again! Please!" He stayed that way for a moment, then, surprised to find himself still dry, looked.

It stared at him in confusion. Seeing him peeking through his arms, it trilled curiously. He lowered his arms slowly. "I don't want to hurt you," he said slowly. It cocked its head to the side, eyes narrowing slightly. "Really." It still didn't look convinced, but it hadn't attacked yet. And it hadn't run away yet, either. Both were good signs, right? "I'm… I'm James. Do you have a name?" It gave him a funny look, and trilled again, this time at a lower pitch. Suddenly, he felt embarrassed. "Oh. I've gotten used to Meowth… you can't even say your name, can you." The creature shook its head slightly with a soft chirp. "You're… can you be real?" It peered at him in confusion. Its eyes widened a bit, looking less suspicious. He reached out slightly; it pulled back, its eyes narrowing again. He pulled his hand back quickly. "Oh." He flinched slightly, feeling the familiar feeling come over his nose. "Oh… ah… ahhh… ahhh_choo_!" He rubbed his nose. "Oooh… I hate this cold. Jessie and Meowth just tell me to stop complaining when I do. I get no respect from them." The Dratini trilled softly. He sniffed. "We ran out of tissues. Do we buy some? No. We _have_ to buy wax for Meowth's charm. We can't _afford_ tissues. Sheesh." He sighed, then sniffed again. "Let _them_ fall in the lake next time." He looked at the Dratini again. Still it looked at him, its head cocked slightly to the side. "What're you staring at?" It tilted its head in the other direction, chirping again. "You're the only thing that's gone right today." Its eyes narrowed slightly, but in the opposite direction. Instead of suspicious, it looked… almost pleased. He reached out again slowly. It held still. Ever so gently, he placed his hand on its snout. It flinched away. He did too. It whimpered, its eyes squeezed shut. "Oh… I forgot. Meowth got you. He does that to me, too." He reached for his bag, beside his sleeping bag. He pulled out a small tube of ointment. "This stuff heals those right up. Here." He turned back. The Dratini was looking at him suspiciously again. "It gets rid of the sting, too. Cat scratches hurt a lot, don't they?" It seemed to grimace slightly, then came a little closer. He took the lid off the tube. "It smells kind of funny, but the smell goes away pretty fast." It came a little closer. Now, he could see the deep red lines that crisscrossed its snout and face. He cringed in sympathy. "He got you pretty bad." He put some of the ointment on his finger. "This stings a bit, but it stops after a minute. It's nasty stuff, but it works fast." He held out his finger. "You're not going to spray me again if this stings, are you? I _did_ warn you." It frowned a little, but held its ground.

He touched his finger to its snout, smearing the ointment horizontally across its face. It felt sort of like rubber, smooth and a little bit moist. It flinched when his finger crossed the claw marks, but it didn't yelp, or attack. Gently, he rubbed the cream in. "A… little more should do it." He started to squeeze some more onto his finger, but a sudden sneeze escaped him. He managed to turn his head aside, but he accidentally squeezed half the tube of ointment all over his hand. "Ahh!" He stared at the mess. "This stuff is _expensive_. Jessie's going to _kill_ me!"

He looked up, startled, at a purring trill. The Dratini looked right back, its eyes narrowed into a pleasant smile. It purred again, giggling. He chuckled. "I guess it _is_ kind of funny," he admitted. "I just hope Jessie realizes that, when she finds out." He sighed again, putting the remaining ointment away. He dabbed one of his other fingers into the mess. "Now…" With the ease of much practice, he finished treating the worst of the cuts on the Dratini's face and its fin-like ears. "There we go." He wiped the rest of the cream on the grass. He looked at the creature again. "Now what?"

It tilted its head to the other side again with a curious trill, then looked away. It looked around intently, the fins on its head stiff. After a few moments, the fins drooped a little. With a sad trill, it lowered its head, and looked at him mournfully. Then it looked down.

"What's wrong?" he asked. It trilled a quiet, mournful note, not looking at him. "Did I say something?" It looked at him, attempted to smile, and failed. He reached out slowly. It didn't pull away. Gently, he placed his hand on its smooth head. It didn't flinch, or even look at him. "What's wrong?"

It trilled softly again. It lifted its head, looking around again. Suddenly, he understood. "You're looking for your trainer." It trilled a sad agreement, looking at him. The understated accusation in its gaze stung. "How did he manage to catch you?" It blinked, but that didn't really seem like an answer. "Well… maybe I can train you now." It didn't even blink this time. Maybe it doubted it as much as he did, or maybe he hadn't sounded convinced when he said it. "I've always wanted a Dratini." He rubbed his hand gently on its forehead, in a spot where the ointment didn't make its head sticky.

After a few moments, it looked around again, then yawned. He smiled in spite of himself. "It _is_ kind of late." It peered at him for a moment, then chirped. He looked at its pokéball, which lay on the jacket beside his bag. He sighed, picking up the ball. "I hate to do this, but…" It chirped again. He looked at it, curious. It had its head tilted to the side again, questioningly. "If I don't put you back in, you'll run away." It narrowed its eyes into a faint smile. "Well, not _run_, but whatever… slither. You'll slither away, and then they'll kill me. You have to go to the Boss."

It chirped softly. It looked around once more, but not nearly as intently as it had before. Then, slowly, it squirmed closer. He sat up straighter as it slid into the sleeping bag. He giggled as he felt it slide against his bare feet, then smiled as it peeked out again. It chirped, laying its head down on his pillow. It closed its eyes with a soft sigh.

His smile grew as he slid farther into the sleeping bag. Gingerly, he put one arm over the Pokémon. It opened its eyes a little, whistled softly, and then closed them again.

Before he could really enjoy the moment, he fell sound asleep. Through the night, he didn't sneeze once.

*

"_WHERE IS IT?!_"

He nearly leaped out of the sleeping bag. Instead, he sat up straight with a yelp. He shrieked as the rumpled uniform he's slept in was grabbed roughly from the front, pulling his face dangerously close to that of a murderously furious Jessie. "_WHERE IS IT?!_" she roared again, shaking him. "_WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH OUR DRATINI?!_"

"Our… our what?" he yelped, trying to get his brain to wake up too.

"Da _Dratini_ you moron!" Meowth shouted. He stood beside Jessie, equally furious, his claws fully extended. "Don't make _Me-_owth have to remind you!"

"Da… the Dratini?" James felt his heart sink somewhere around his heels. "Oooh…" His shoulders slumped as he hung his head. Jessie let him go, but that didn't mean she was any less furious. "I didn't think it'd run… slither… away…"

"_You let it GO?!_" the other two screamed. Jessie lunged for his throat, Meowth for his face. He cringed, putting up his arms.

He shrieked as something smooth slid against the sensitive bottoms of his feet, then heard Jessie and Meowth scream. He lowered his arms, then blinked in surprise.

The Dratini, its face free of the scratches from the day before, glared in annoyance at his two soaked partners, who were now several feet away. It looked at him, trilling questioningly.

"You… you did that for me?" Its eyes narrowed a little as it giggled trillingly. "Ooh!" He threw his arms around it. It squeaked in surprise, but didn't pull away. "My very own Dratini!"

"_Your_ Dratini?" Jessie swiped the water dripping from her hair off her face. "That Dratini is _our_ ticket to _everything_!"

"Dat's right!" Meowth agreed, shaking off. "I'll be Top Cat again, and youse two will be the Boss's favorite team!"

James frowned, his arms still around the Pokémon beside him. "But I want to keep it," he said quietly, his voice dangerously close to a whine.

"Prepare for slaughta!"

"You really oughta…"

All four looked up. The only one not to say, "Huh?" trilled its equivalent.

"To protect Pokémon from thieves and goons!"

"To save the innocent from weirdoes and loons."

"To denounce the villainy of what you did!"

"To show you we're not just pushover kids!"

From a tree next to the tent, a girl with dull brown hair leaped to the ground. She struck a dramatic pose, while the Eevee on her shoulders hissed at them. "Eevee!"

From another tree, a red-haired boy descended, then held a daisy to his lips. "Remmy."

The girl smirked at them. "Team Pallet, we've searched all night."

The boy's eyes narrowed as he threw the daisy aside. "Surrender Drake, or prepare to fight."

From the bushes between the trees they'd jumped from, a tall, tailless Persian emerged, a Raichu with sparking cheeks beside it, three Eevees behind him. The Persian snarled dangerously.

The girl's smirk faded as she looked at her partner. "You know, I _still_ don't like the first pair of lines…"

The boy shrugged. "Well, it _was_ short notice… _and_ the middle of the night."

"True." The girl yawned heavily. "Can we get on with this? I really need some sleep."

The Dratini trilled, its eyes narrowing until they were nearly shut. It raced out of the sleeping bag, across the small clearing, to wrap itself up the boy's legs and anchor itself on his waist, its head rested over his shoulder as it rubbed its cheek against his.

The boy laughed. "Good to see you too, Drake. You okay?" The Dratini trilled happily. He rubbed the Dratini's head gently.

"That's _our_ Dratini!" Meowth shouted. "Give 'em back!"

"Yours?" The girl laughed. "You stole it, and we're here to get it back!"

"Ekans, go!" Jessie cried, throwing out her pokéball. "Get that Dratini back!"

James scowled. He crawled out of his sleeping bag, and rummaged through his bag for his own pokéball. Grabbing it, he stood up - staying on his sleeping bag, though, so he didn't step on anything sharp with his bare feet. "Go, Koffing!"

"_Meowth!_" Meowth glared at the Persian. "You're mine!"

The Persian crouched low, snarling.

The Ekans hissed.

The Raichu's cheeks sparked.

The Koffing fumed.

One of the Eevees chattered angrily.

"_Wait a minute!_"

Everyone looked at James.

He looked around. "Can't we solve this with a real battle?" he pleaded. He glared at the red-haired kid - Remmy. "You and me. Winner gets the Dratini."

"No way," the girl snapped. "Come on, Rem. We have Drake."

Remmy looked at her quietly, then at James. The Dratini trilled questioningly, looking between its trainer and the trainer who stole it. "Okay." He looked at James. "I'll battle."

"Are you _nuts_?" the girl almost shrieked. "We have Drake! Let's just go!"

Remmy glared at her. The girl blinked in surprise. "No," he said. He looked back at James. "I'm tired of this. Nobody's taking Drake. We're going to end this once and for all." He clenched his fists. "You win, you get Drake. I win, you never touch it again. Got it?"

"James!" Jessie snapped.

"All right!" he agreed.

The boy's eyes narrowed. "We do this right." He scowled. "Three Pokémon each. Drake doesn't battle. No outside help." He looked at Jessie and his own partner with equally pointed glares, before returning his eerily old, gray eyes to James. "One Pokémon at a time. Any who cheat lose."

James nodded a little - then paled. "But I-"

The kid raised one red eyebrow, his expression freezing into one without room for argument. "But you what? You give in?"

"No!" James snapped. He turned to Jessie. "Can I borrow Ekans?"

"Of course you can," Jessie replied, "but-"

"Meowth." The upright cat looked at him. "I need a third Pokémon!"

"I don't got any!" Meowth snapped.

James glared at him.

"Oh!" Meowth smiled sheepishly. "Yeah. Okay." He glared challengingly at the Persian, who sneered in reply.

"You need any of mine, just ask, Remmy," the girl told him.

Remmy's eyes scanned the three Pokémon. "I wish Nuisance was better," he muttered, rubbing Drake's head. "Get off, Drake. You have to sit this one out." The Dratini nudged his cheek with its snout, then wound itself off of him, resting by the girl's feet. It stared at the small clearing with worry.

"Meowth! You first!" James cried.

Meowth stepped forward, sneering at the Persian. The Persian growled in challenge.

"_No_, Manx," the boy snapped. The Persian glared at him. "Chia."

The Raichu blinked, then stepped forward. Her cheeks sparked.

"Meowth, use your Fury Swipes!" James yelled. Meowth leaped forward with a yell.

"Chia, Thunderbolt." Meowth whimpered, even in mid-air, as the sparks leaped into a frenzy as the Raichu charged up, then shot a bolt of energy at him. He tried to dodge, aborting his own attack, but he was too slow. With a yowl, he was sent flying out of sight.

James watched as Meowth disappeared over the trees, and bit his lip a little. He looked at the other two Pokémon, who did not appear at all excited to be next. "Koffing, Smoke Screen!"

The Koffing floated forward, pouring a thick smog into the clearing.

"Chia, back!" Remmy coughed. "Go, Pi!" Through the smoke, James saw a dull flare of red. "Whirlwind!"

It took a moment, but soon the smoke was blowing back in James and Jessie's faces. James covered his mouth as best he could. "Tackle Attack!" He heard a loud squawk. "Now, Smog Attack!" He blinked back tears as the worst of the smoke drifted out of his eyes. He blinked again, to see a Pidgey lying on the ground, defeated.

"Pi, return! Chia, again!"

"Smog Attack!"

"_Chu_!" The Raichu attacked at the same time as the Koffing. Though some of the Smog Attack sprayed its face, the rest of the attack ignited, travelling along it until it reached the Koffing itself. It shouted in pain as the gases it held inside of itself exploded, sending the Koffing soaring in the same direction as Meowth had gone - up, up, and away.

"Good job, Chia." Remmy stepped forward, giving the Raichu a rub on the head. The Raichu acknowledged him with a muttered "Rye" and continued trying to rub the sludge off of its face and out of its eyes. "Come back here." He led it out of the fighting area.

"Go, Ekans." The snake Pokémon whimpered a little as it slithered hesitantly into the clearing. It wouldn't have to worry about the Raichu… but what other Pokémon did this human have? Hopefully, no more electric ones…

The boy pulled a pokéball out of his jeans pocket. "Go, Fairie." The ball enlarged, then popped open, revealing a cute, pink, fuzzy Pokémon that was a little too familiar…

"A Clefairy!" Jessie cried, her eyes shining wickedly. "_Win_, James, so we can get _that_ one, too!"

"You're cheering for me _now_?" he asked, surprised.

"Just _do it!_" she snapped eagerly.

"Fairie, Double-Slap!"

James whirled to face his opponent again. "Ekans, _Leer_!"

The Clefairy leaped forward, but stopped short as the snake glared at it, its eyes shining an eerie blue. The Clefairy quaked in fear.

"_Fairie_! Close your eyes!" the boy snapped. The Clefairy turned, surprised, to look back at its trainer.

"Ekans, Wrap Attack!"

"_Fairie_!" the boy snapped, more harshly. "_Metronome_!"

The Clefairy turned back around, smiling a little at the oncoming snake. It lifted its hands, and began waving one finger on each hand, back and forth, very steadily. "Clef-_air-_ee, clef-_air_-ee, clef-_air_-ee…" it began to chant in a steady rhythm.

The Ekans slowed to a stop, its eyes following the gently swaying fingers of the Clefairy. "Ek…ans…?" it muttered dazedly, watching the gently swaying fingers, listening to the hypnotically gentle chant.

Jessie and James watched, too, with numb dread, the hypnotizing rhythm not allowing them to forget what happened _last_ time they faced this attack…

"Clef-_air_-ee, clef-_air_-ee, clef-_air_-ee, clef-_air_-ee…. _Clefairy_!" The chant and swaying stopped together, as the tips of the Clefairy's fingers began to glow. Then its eyes did as well…

There was a flash of brilliant, multi-colored light, as the Clefairy opened its mouth wide. From its eyes and mouth shot the blindingly powerful beam, slamming into Team Rocket and their tent. As one, the two humans, the Ekans, and the tent flew into the air.

James stared numbly as he flew, at a pair of royal purple eyes that stared right back. He was surprised to see tears stinging them, and smiled a little bit. Jessie screamed at him, but he didn't hear her. "Bye," he whispered, as the Dratini disappeared from sight.

They flew for almost a full minute, to a somewhat familiar place. James groaned. "Not the lake again!" he whimpered.

As he watched, however, he soared completely over it, flying face-first through a haystack, which slowed him so much that he simply rolled down the opposite side. He looked around, spitting out hay. "Jess?" he called, even as he heard a very large splash.

"'Bout time youse two showed up," he heard a familiar voice mutter. He got up, walking around the haystack, to find Meowth leaning against it, looking wet and miserable. His Koffing was beside the cat Pokémon; it seemed all right, in spite of its unintentional explosion. "I was startin' t-taa… _aaaaaaaaaCHOO!_- t'get a chill." The Meowth sniffled. "Got a tissue?"

*

"Hyper Beam?" Ivonar suggested.

Remmy nodded a little bit, giving Fairie's head an affectionate rub before returning her to her pokéball. "I think so."

Ivonar scowled at him, even as Q and Mollie came out from their hiding places in the bushes. "That is the stupidest thing I've ever see you do. Don't try it again."

Remmy gave her a vague smile. "You're the one always saying I have such a great ability to train Pokémon."

"But-" Ivonar's scowl deepened as she shut her mouth, lacking anything to argue with.

"Did you honestly think I was going to lose?" he asked, raising his eyebrows questioningly.

Her scowl turned into a grimace as she crossed her arms. She regarded him coldly. "I was worried about it," she admitted.

Suddenly, he grinned. "Whoops."

"Whoops?" she echoed, her jaw dropping. "_Whoops_?" Her arms uncrossed so she could put her hands on her hips. "What do you _mean_, _whoops_?!"

Remmy just grinned as he went to their packs, which Q and Mollie had been guarding. He pulled an empty pokéball out of his, and tossed it toward the Marril. Mollie caught it as it opened, sucking her inside. She didn't fight, so her ball disappeared quite quickly. "I mean whoops." He looked toward the slightly scorched clearing, and sighed. "Looks like I need a new jacket." He scowled slightly, and sighed again. "My badges were on it."

"They _were_? Oh, Remmy, I'm sorry…"

He shook his head. "It's okay."

"No, it isn't. You _earned_ those."

He turned, smiling his rare smile at her. "Between the badges or Drake, I'd rather have Drake."

She smiled back, a little sadly. "Well… when you put it that way."

Drake slithered over silently, resting its head on his knee. He gave it a tight hug. "Besides, both those badges were more Drake's than mine."

"Don't start that again. You're at least proud of both of them." Ivonar knelt beside him. She touched her belt, and then pulled something off it. She held it out to him. "Here. This means more to you - _and_ Drake and Saurus - than it does me."

Remmy looked. "Hey… no way." He shook his head, pushing her hand away. "I'm not taking your Boulder Badge, Eevee. No way."

"You _earned_ yours!" she snapped. "_You_ deserve something to show for it!"

"I'm not taking your badge!" he snapped back. She blinked in surprise. He folded her hand into a fist, the badge inside. "There's no way I'm taking your badge," he said again, in his normal tone. "It's yours. It doesn't matter how you got it. It's _yours_." He rubbed Drake's head with one hand, using the other to keep hers in a fist. "Thank you," he added. "But it's yours."

She nodded a little, and then returned the pin to where it had been. She sighed a little. "So now what?" she asked. "We keep heading for Saffron?"

He sighed slightly in return. "Guess so."

"Rai! _Chee_!"

"Huh?" The two trainers looked toward Chia, who held up the one remaining evidence of Team Rocket - a sleeping bag that had been blown aside, not away. Chia put the sleeping bag down, and then picked up something inside of it.

"My jacket!" Remmy cried, surprised. Chia carried it over, handing it to him. He looked at the collar, half-smiling at the two badges pinned to it. He rubbed Chia's head affectionately. "Thanks, Chia."

"Rai!" Chia giggled.

"Hey!"

They looked up, startled at the sound of a voice above them - and were startled again, by its source. "Zan?" Ivonar said.

The older trainer smiled at them as he jumped from his Weezing's back. "Didn't think I'd find you so easy!" he greeted them. "Good thing you stuck to the fastest route. I thought we'd have to wait for you in Saffron." He gave Asthma a pat.

"_Wheeeeze_," Asthma agreed.

"Did we forget something?" Remmy asked, frowning a bit.

"Nope. But I found something interesting you need." He reached into his pocket, pulling out a folded sheet of paper. He unfolded it, pressing out the creases as best he could, then handed it to Ivonar. "One of those look familiar?"

They looked at the paper curiously.

****

MISSING!

REWARD!

Two Pokémon

****

Green Eevee

Sixteen inches long; Twenty Pounds

Small, green-furred Eevee

with stubby legs and 

a vaguely purple bulb on its back.

Very friendly.

****

Cunone

Eighteen inches long; Twelve Pounds

Clay-colored Pokémon resembling Cubone

with no helmet and a short tail.

Rebellious, independent, and not easily captured.

Most likely to be found together.

Have been missing from 

****

HAVEN TOWN TOWER LAB 

for several weeks. If seen, please 

****

CAPTURE IMMEDIATELY 

and return 

****

AT ONCE.

****

SIMON KO, DOCTOR.

HAVEN TOWN TOWER LAB

Above each description was a small picture. The first was of the strangest Eevee either of them had ever seen. It seemed a bit oversized, with relatively short, greenish fur and stunted ears. The rest of it seemed oddly crossed with a Bulbasaur: it had similarly short, chubby legs, a wide face, and - strangest of all - a small, purplish-green bulb growing from its back. Its reddish-brown eyes were narrowed into a pleasant, happy smile.

The other picture showed…

"If that isn't Q, I don't know what is," Ivonar said, shaking her head slightly.

"Cu…none." Remmy frowned. "Weird name."

"I looked it up." Zan shoved his hands in his pockets. "It's an extinct ancestor of Cubone. It was thought to be intelligent enough to make use of bone weapons, like Cubone, but the lack of two skulls at most fossil sights suggested they didn't use helmets that often. There haven't been any fully intact skeletons found yet." He chuckled. "At least, according to the book."

Remmy looked down at Q, who pushed the pot on its head backward to look back. "So Q's an exception?"

"Guess so," Zan agreed.

"Thanks for getting this to us," Ivonar said, handing the flyer back. She frowned a bit. "But… um…" Zan raised an eyebrow questioningly. "Where's Haven Town?"

Zan chuckled. "You know where Viridian City is?"

Remmy and Ivonar glanced at each other. "Um… yeah…" Ivonar replied slowly.

"And you know where Pallet Town is, and how Route 1 runs between them?"

"We both _from_ Pallet Town," Remmy told him.

Zan nodded. "Okay. Now, you know the patch of Route 17 that runs parallel to Route 1 a bit to the east?"

"Now I'm lost," Ivonar told him, shaking her head.

Zan chuckled. "That's okay. I know where it is." He nodded a bit in the direction Team Rocket had flown off in. "The road's not far from here. I got the truck. I can give you a lift."

"Don't you have to work?" Ivonar asked.

Zan shrugged. "I'm taking the week off. Thought I'd get some training in."

"But if you take us back to Haven Town…"

Zan laughed, grinning. "It's _my_ week off. If I want to chauffeur you around, are you going to complain, or are we going to get someone back where he belongs?"

Ivonar and Remmy both looked at Q. The Pokémon looked away, gripping the bar it carried in both paws. Ivonar frowned. "It doesn't look too excited." She walked over to it, crouching closer to its eye level. "Hey, Q?" It looked at her hesitantly. "Don't you want to go home?"

It grimaced slightly. "Q," it said, holding the bar in one paw, then the other. It pushed the pot back on its horns, but the moment it let go, the bowed position of its head made the pot slide back in place half over its eyes. "Kyuuuu…." It dug one foot into the ground a bit before looking at Manx, then at her. "Q, k'q!" it said, jumping on the shoulder Sweetie wasn't on. It thrust the bar forward, slashing at the air in front of them. "_Q!_"

Ivonar giggled as she stood up again. "Looks like someone found their enthusiasm." She ticked Q under its chin. "Okay. Let's get to Haven Town!"


	10. Default Chapter Title

**_A Pallet Pair_**** #10:**

The Greenest Eevee

Haven Town is a bit of an oddity, as far as towns go. Part of its oddity comes from its history.

Once, long ago, it had been a poor outpost, a place in between the then Fort Viridian and Celadon Plantation. Its one noteworthy structure was a four-story stone tower that stood on the road just before it. The outpost acted as a hospital for humans and Pokémon injured in a war going on at that time. Because they never asked which side their patients fought for, and because they always returned their patients, both armies decided to build a protective wall around the outpost at nearly the same time (though on opposite sides). A huge battle broke out when the two opponents discovered one another, and, in the process, destroyed their walls and most of the outpost. The battle fell apart when a third army intervened - a Pokémon army, led by the Pokémon who lived with the keeper of the tower, which housed the Pokémon hospital. (This was of an in-between time, before Pokécenters existed, when Pokémon towers housed breeders and herbalists rather than volunteers and machines, but long after their original, unknown purpose had since ceased. Currently, very few of these towers still exist, as most were torn down in order to build Pokécenters in their places. The best known one, of those that remain, is that of Lavender Town; there is also the one of Haven Town, as well as Opalian City. The ruins of Viridian's Pokémon Tower can be found, with much searching, in Viridian Forest.) No one can agree as to what that brave Pokémon was - some say an Arcanine; some say a Moltres, or an Articuno… some say it was a mere Pidgey or Rattata. Whatever it was, it led the injured, healing Pokémon onto the battlefield. For the first time in recorded history, an organized army of Pokémon took on an army of humans… and, in that first time, they won. The Brave Pokémon is said to have fallen in the last shot fired, to die three days later. The master of the Pokémon Tower was chosen to pass judgement over the prisoners. The master of the Tower made simple rules: the prisoners were to be tended, their wounds allowed to heal, and then they would rebuild what they had destroyed as well as rebuild, and finish, the walls they had started. Once these things were done, they were free to go. A year later, Fort Haven was completed, but not one soldier left. When the war was over, the soldiers at Fort Haven sent for their families, and Fort Haven became Haven Town.

In the last century, however, Haven Town has started to decline. The growth of Viridian City so nearby has weakened the little, walled town, whose famous walls keep it from growing any larger than it is. People have started moving out, to move into Viridian, increasing the town's peril. With the building of Viridian's state-of-the-art Pokécenter, Haven Town's historic Pokémon Tower was forced to close its doors. The Tower stood, abandoned, for almost ten years, until a strange, secretive man named Simon Ko moved into it. For fifteen years, he has holed away in the Tower.No one is quite certain what he does in there…

*

The three of them were jammed into the cab, but somehow, it didn't seem that bad.

Possibly because they knew Manx was stuck in the truck bed, being rained on.

Ivonar stared out the window of the truck, noting the fourth **REWARD flyer she'd seen in the last ten minutes."Guess he really misses you, Q," she said, running her hand down the strange Pokémon's ridged back.**

"Q…" the Pokémon replied tonelessly.It bowed its head a bit.The pot on its head slid forward, halfway covering its eyes.

Remmy looked at them.As the smallest, he was stuck being squashed in the middle."Is it okay?" he asked."It's been acting a lot like Nuisance was."

"That flyer said that it and the Eevee thing would probably be found together," Zan spoke up.The damp weather made his usually somewhat upright hair slick almost straight back; with his pronounced widow's peak, he looked eerily vampiric."Maybe it misses its friend."

"Kyuuu…" Q pushed the pot back against its horns, then peered out the window dully.

"A Green Eevee."Ivonar unfolded the flyer Zan had brought with him."It's kind of cute… though kinda weird, too."

Remmy looked too."Looks like a furry Bulbasaur."

"Or an Eevee with a bulb on its back."

"Since Q's a resurrected Pokémon, maybe the Green Eevee is some sort of common ancestor," Zan suggested.

"Maybe."

Remmy chuckled, rubbing the fur between Cole's ears."It'd fit right in."

"Huh?"Sweetie trilled from her place on Ivonar's shoulders."Oh."Ivonar chuckled, tickling the little Eevee under her chin."Sure, what's one more?"

"I wonder if he's found it yet."

"Me, too."

"Kyuuu…"

"I wonder what the reward is," Zan said.

"Reward?" Ivonar echoed.

"That… _is_… what the posters say."Remmy pointed to the big print on the second line of the poster.

"Oh."Ivonar shrugged a little."Um… okay."She laughed at herself."Who knows.At least Q will be back where it belongs."Q grunted."I don't know…"Ivonar looked at it worriedly."I thought it'd be happier about it."

"I haven't been here in ages."Ivonar looked out the window just in time to watch as they passed through a giant gate."They had some problems with wild Rattata for awhile," Zan continued."Not to mention Ghost Pokémon attracted to the tower.This is about the only tower I know that they _don't_ want the ghosts in."

"Who is this Dr. Ko guy?" Ivonar asked."What's he doing with resurrected Pokémon?"

"Some doctors do that sort of thing."Zan frowned."They have to get a ton of permits for each one, though."

"Wow."Ivonar looked at Q."You must've cost a fortune."

"Q."Q scowled.It pulled the pot farther over its eyes.

Zan stopped the truck."This is it."

Ivonar peered out the window."All I see is rain."She grimaced."Poor Manx… he must be soaked."

"Static's probably loving it," Remmy laughed.

"I hope they don't catch a cold or something."

"Come on."Zan pulled the plastic hood of his poncho over his head."The faster we run, the less that'll hit us, right?"

Ivonar banged on the door again, shivering."I'm starting to think Fluffball had the right idea," she said, her teeth chattering.She looked back toward the truck, where Fluffball remained curled up beneath the seat."My raincoat's useless."

"Mine's been useless the moment I opened the door," Zan muttered."My hair is permanently plastered to my skull.Why do they bother putting hoods on these things?"

Q was silent, hiding under Remmy's jacket.

Zan tried his luck, pounding the door with his fist."Come on, blast it!We got your Cunone!" he shouted."And we're getting soaked out here!"

The door creaked, opening a tiny crack."You have what?" a scratchy voice demanded.

Ivonar pointed toward Remmy's feet."Um… we found your Cunone."

"And the Eevee?"

Ivonar and Remmy traded looks."Um… we… haven't seen it," Ivonar said.

"Hmm.Something must've happened."The door creaked open a little farther."Where is it?"

"Down there."Remmy pointed at his feet.

"Hmm."The door creaked open a bit farther."Cunone.Come here."Q shivered, making a sound of protest.The voice's owner grunted."Come in.All of you."The door inched open slowly."It hates the water."They waited impatiently for the door to open, but it did so in slow, short jerks."If you would _push_, please?" the scratchy voice snapped."It's heavy."

With the three of them pushing, the door opened a bit faster.Manx slipped himself through the doorway first and shook off."Pokémon trainers!" the scratchy voice snapped."Keep your trainees in their balls if you will!"

"Manx hates his ball," Ivonar apologized, going in.She blinked, the rest of her apology forgotten."Whoa."

The inside of the tower was poorly lit and a bit damp, but it made up for it in cleanliness and simple presentation.The floor was done in a black and white checkered spiral, the equally spiral staircase completely flat black.The walls remained the undecorated gray of the stone they were made from.

"I have very sensitive work here," the man behind the door growled in his scratchy voice."Experiments and Pokémon that should not be disturbed by badly trained outside influences."He glared at Manx, who glared right back."Hmph.Persians.Stubborn, stuck-up lot."He shoved the door shut again, then glared at Zan."Are you really old enough to train that thing?"

"He's not mine," Zan replied, pointing at Ivonar.

The man was small, not too much above five feet tall, and built narrow.His darting magenta eyes stood out sharply in his angular, pasty face.He glared at Ivonar through glasses that appeared far too small to be of any use to him.He snorted, glared at Manx one more time, then turned his eyes toward the floor."Cunone!"He pointed to his feet."Here."

Slowly, Q pushed its way from beneath Remmy's raincoat.It pushed the pot back from its eyes with one paw, clutching the metal bar tightly with the other one.

"What is this?"The man glared at the others accusingly.

"What's what?" Zan asked politely, smiling an odd, small smile.

The man gestured toward the small Pokémon."I don't seem to recall my Cunone having luggage when it ran away."

"Ran away?" Ivonar echoed, her eyes widening.Was _that_ why Q wasn't excited to come back – because it had chosen to run away?Because it hadn't liked it here?

"Hmph."The doctor pulled his lab coat tighter around himself."We had a storm several months ago.My poor Green Eevee was outside… I haven't an idea where she could have disappeared to.Then this ingrate of a creature decided to look for her, I suppose."He glared down at Q again.With eyes like his, the glare had to be permanent."Only excuse you might have."

"Q!"Q nodded so quickly the pot banged back and forth on its horns.

Dr. Ko scowled. "What is this?" he demanded again, gesturing at the Pokémon."What's that bar it has?"

"It got that from my mess kit," Ivonar replied."It took it and doesn't want to give it back.It's not important – it can have it if it wants."

The doctor crouched down, seeming to ignore her completely."Weapons."He touched the pot on Q's head."Helmet… metal, not marrow… hmm."He gripped Q's wrist, lifting its paw so he could inspect the bar it held."Metal."He frowned thoughtfully."Couldn't possibly have been metal…"

"What couldn't have?" Zan asked.

"I've been trying for years to get this thing to use a weapon.I tried bone, wood, rock.What it should have had on hand, in its time.But metal?Ludicrous.It wouldn't have had metal to use."

"I found a skeleton of something like this Pokémon," Zan said."As we were getting it out, there appeared to be some excess bone along with-"

Dr. Ko's head snapped up."Where?" he demanded, standing quickly.

"Huh?"

"Where did you find it?"

"Tier Canyon."Zan frowned a little.

"Who's 'we'?"

"What's it matter to you?" Zan replied tightly.

"Tier Canyon…"The man brushed his hands together."Tier Canyon… what depth, do you think?"

"Near the bottom."

Dr. Ko nodded quickly."As I thought."He turned around, heading for the stairs."As I had thought…"

"Q!"Q stuck its bar in its mouth and hurried after the doctor on all fours.Manx trotted after him, a sopping Static at his heels.Lacking anything better to do (and having no rush to go back in the rain), the others followed.

The doctor took the steps two at a time, going a level downward.With each step it seemed to get damper and chillier.There was about an inch of rainwater at the foot of the stairs; Dr. Ko walked through it, oblivious, and slipped through a door at the foot of the stairs.Q stopped at the last step, staring at the water grimly.

Static jumped over the last two stairs, landing with a small splash in the water."Eee!" he squealed happily.

The door flew open again.Dr. Ko glared out at the Eevee at the foot of the stairs.His hopeful expression quickly faded into grim disappointment.Static looked at him curiously.Only then did the doctor look at the others, still on the stairs."Carry Cunone in here if you will," he muttered, turning back, this time leaving the door open."It hates the water.Take care, it bites."

Ivonar and Remmy traded confused looks."Q doesn't bite," Ivonar disagreed, picking it up before walking gingerly through the water.She cringed it splashed against her bare leg, sending shivers up her back."Static, stop splashing," she scolded him.Static trilled disappointedly, sitting down, his ears at ninety-degree angles from his head.They went into the basement room, Static, still looking disappointed, taking up the rear.

The basement room was a far cry from what they had seen of the tower so far: gone was the gloom and dampness.Here it was so brightly lit, it took a few moments for their visions to clear.

The room was done in a dull yellow color, with wooden and metal furniture, plastic-encased computer equipment, and metal cages making up the entirety of the décor.Manx growled softly, sniffing the air with a disturbed look on his face.

"Keep that thing under control, if you will," Dr. Ko muttered, apparently meaning Manx.He grabbed a thick binder from a metal bookshelf, tossing it on a wooden table as he snatched a pencil from a cracked coffee mug placed on a thin metallic shelf.He snapped the binder open, flipped quickly through several pages, then hunched over it and started scribbling madly, muttering to himself.

"Have you re-created anything else, Dr. Ko?" Ivonar asked politely.

"Only that thing," Dr. Ko grumbled."I create.Not re-create."

"Create?" Ivonar echoed.

Zan scowled."Isn't that illegal?"

"Please be quiet."Dr. Ko's voice bordered on a snap."If it were illegal I would not have been hired for it.Now please – I'm trying to concentrate."

Ivonar scratched the back of Q's neck distractedly, wandering over to the cages.In one, a Jigglypuff was sleeping; in another, a small Psyduck, probably half-grown, looked at her blankly before attempting a weak smile.A Cubone banged its weapon against the floor of its cage boredly, resting its chin its other fist.

Suddenly, the Cubone disappeared in a haze of purple.Ivonar jumped slightly back.

Wide eyes stared into hers, their expression disapproving."_Gastly_!" the eyes' owner snapped.The ball-like ghost wove back and forth, then bumped into her a few times, trying to move her backwards."Gas, gas,_gastly_!"

Dr. Ko glanced over his shoulder."Get away from there," he snapped."I've no need for you getting yourself hurt."

"I was just looking," Ivonar muttered.The Gastly glared at her."Is this your Gastly?"

"It was the only one here when I moved in," he replied, "and the only one I've allowed to stay.It has no attacks, but it does have its uses occasionally."

"Gastly."It continued trying to nudge Ivonar from the cages.

"Knock it off."Ivonar tried to push it away, but the thing became intangible."Hey, that's not fair!"

"Gastly!"

"Go away."Ivonar walked through it, heading down the line of cages.The Gastly rammed into her back."Stop it!"

Zan shook his head, smiling faintly."Ghosts are pains, aren't they."He unclipped a pokéball from his belt."Jester, talk to your friend, okay?"The pokéball popped open, releasing the Haunter.

"Keep your Pokémon contained!" Dr. Ko snapped.

"Haunt?"Jester gave the man a skeptical look, then floated over to the Gastly.The two were soon in a deep conversation… at least, Jester was.The Gastly's apparent annoyance made it seem more as if it was arguing.

Ivonar continued around the cages, Dr. Ko too distracted by whatever he was writing to complain.A Bulbasaur lay with its legs tucked under it, sleeping fitfully; an old-looking Eevee smiled gently at her.Sweetie trilled a greeting.The Eevee squinted a bit at Sweetie, then yawned.It curled into a ball, covering its nose with its tail, shivering slightly.

"Guess it's nap time," Ivonar muttered, going around to the other side.

And stared.

In the first cage was a creature the likes of which she'd never seen.She took her Pokédex out of her pocket, flipping it open."_Pokémon not found_," it chirped helplessly.

The Pokémon looked at her with intelligent curiousness in its royal purple eyes.Its skin was pale lavender, its ears and chest a dull cream color.It looked mostly like a Charmander, but its coloring was completely wrong.The ears and pearly round spot on its forehead resembled the ones Drake had.Its tail, as long as the rest of the Pokémon, looked like a Vaporeon's, though it was the same pale purple as the rest of it.

"What _is_ this?" she breathed.

The Pokémon smiled thinly."Shar," it murmured, blinking slowly.It stood carefully, going to the front of the bars.It peered at her and Sweetie curiously."Shar?"

Ivonar stuck a finger through the bars.The creature sniffed at it."What _are_ you?"

"Shar-char."The Pokémon snorted, a puff of steam escaping its nose."Chardra."

It flopped back down."Shar."

"Wow…"Ivonar looked at it for a moment more, then continued down the line of cages.Most were empty.One had an ordinary-looking Farfetch'd in it, though it didn't have a leek.It sat on a nest, its head bowed as if asleep, but its eyes were open."Is this Farfetch'd okay?" she called.

"Eh?"Dr. Ko's head snapped up.He darted looks at Remmy, Zan, and Manx."Where's the girl?"Remmy pointed toward the cages."Get out from back there!" Dr. Ko snapped, hurrying passed the other two."Give me Cunone and get out.Just get out."He reached for Q.

Ivonar frowned."Is it okay?" she asked, pointing at the bird in the cage.

Dr. Ko looked at it."Fine.She's incubating, that's all."

"Incubating?"

"Sitting on her egg."He smiled faintly."An egg I hope contains another breakthrough."

"Breakthrough?"

He signaled for her to follow him, apparently forgetting his anger from a moment before.He went back to the other occupied cage."My Chardra," he said."A combination of a Charmander and a Dratini."

"You have a Dratini?"

He shook his head."I borrowed material from an associate of mine, same with the Charmander.I try not to gain too many Pokémon… they take away time I need for my research.The Cubone and Jigglypuff are on loan from an old partner of mine.The Bulbasaur is one left from an older experiment whose owner never reclaimed it… Eevee-10 is the mother of my Green Eevee.She's never quite recovered from that, I think."He frowned a bit."A bad reaction to the LRG-P in the Green Eevee."

"The what?"

"An important part of what makes certain Pokémon evolve when exposed to Leaf Stones and others not.Once I was hired to help discover why Eevees evolved when exposed to Fire, Thunder, and Water Stones, but not Leaf Stones.The reason are LRGs – loose reactive genes.Genetic structures within Pokémon that are incomplete unless exposed to the radiation of a corresponding elemental stone.Once completed, it allows those Pokémon to reach their next evolutional stage."

"Wow."She stared at the Chardra, whose curious expression had faded to boredom.

"Normal Eevees react badly to LRG-P – loose reactive gene, plant base.They contain the three different LRGs for evolving by way of the other three stones – LRG-F, LRG-W, LRG-E.Fire, Water, Electric."

"But they're allergic to the other one?" Ivonar asked, understanding most of it.

"Deadly, in most cases."He wandered back to the other side of the cages, Ivonar following behind."With a bit of manipulation – and some Bulbasaur and Gloom DNA thrown in for good measure – I created an Eevee capable of producing LRG-P.My Green Eevee."He scowled."You get hired to do something, they ruin you for doing it right…" he growled.

"And you haven't seen it since?"

He shook his head."I've gotten foolishly attached to that thing," he muttered."I'd finally convinced myself to evolve her…"

"What will it evolve into?"

"I don't know yet."He opened the cage containing the weak-looking Eevee, rubbing its head roughly."Due to exposure to LRG-P when she carried Green Eevee, Eevee-10 is no longer capable of evolving."

"Eevee-10?" Remmy echoed."That's the name you gave it?"

"In creating the Green Eevee, I was given twelve Eevees to work with.Each was designated by number, for the sake of record-keeping.Eight of them died.Two became paralytic.I'm not sure what happened to Eevee-4… that Rattata, Carter, probably stole it…"He snorted, rubbing the Eevee's ear."Technically, the Green Eevee is recorded as 'Eevee-18' – the sixth infant.Second of Eevee-10's litter.None of the earlier litters survived… she was the only one of the litter treated."He gave the Pokémon's head one last pat, then closed the cage.She hadn't wokenup."Only one besides Eevee-10 I still have is Eevee-18, the Green Eevee.Had."He scowled."Have… once someone finds her again."

"I hope you find her," Ivonar said.

Dr. Ko grunted.He looked in on the Cubone."Cubone and Cunone… so far so little likeness besides parallel attacks."The Cubone gave him a bored look, then returned to banging its bone club on the floor of its cage."Cunone apparently chooses its weapon individually, while all Cubone instinctively choose the same one…"

"Interesting theory," Zan said.

"With strong proof."Dr. Ko stood up straight."I created this Cunone three years ago."He took Q from Ivonar, looking it in the eye."Three years, trying to find a weapon it would use, that it would have access to.Bone.Wood.Stone.Mixes of the three… it's intelligent enough to form a make-shift axe, I wouldn't doubt.But metal…"He looked around the room."It must have decided to choose metal while here… most of my materials are metal.But metal…"He shook his head."Ruined.Completely ruined."He glared at Q."Rotten creature," he scolded it dully."You've ruined everything."

Q snorted, tapping the bar it held against the doctor's forehead."Cune," it replied.

"Stop that."He handed it back to Ivonar."Here."

"Huh?"She looked at Q.

"I have no use for this rotten creature.It's bitten me countless times.It's uncontrollable, stubborn.A distraction and a nuisance."Q glared at him."I created it in order to study the characteristics of an extinct Pokémon while between… more pertinent… experimentation.But apparently, Cunone are too intelligent to study in captivity.They require natural setting.The experimentation with this one has been corrupted."

"So… you're just giving it to her?" Zan asked.

"How long have you had it?"

"A few weeks?" Ivonar guessed.

"A little over a month or so," Remmy said.

"If you can stand it that long, you stand it longer."He looked at Ivonar."It really hasn't bit you?"

"When we first got it, it was sort of confused."Ivonar's expression darkened."Had a run-in with an Abra."Q growled softly."Kicked and clawed for a little while, but never bit."

Hmph."Dr. Ko grunted again."Keep it.It's no use to me… and besides, I'm expecting more pertinent research within the next few days.Caring for it would take away time I'll require elsewhere.It seems healthy enough."He wandered over to the binder he'd left on the table.He picked it up, leafing through the pages."All a waste.Pity."He scowled, closing the binder."If that's all, you can go.I've work to do that doesn't require you underfoot.Consider it your reward."

"Just curious…"The doctor gave Zan an annoyed look."What was the reward if you didn't give us Q?"

"Q?"He frowned."The Cunone?Bah.Take your pick.A Psyduck or a Bulbasaur.Or Eevee-10, if you really wanted it.Hard enough to care for the things.I've other things to do.Harrison had better pick up his Jigglypuff like he's supposed to… and I'll have to tell him to take that Cubone back as well."

"Aw, man!"Ivonar slapped her forehead."Rem, we still have to tell Professor Oak what Q is, don't we?"

He laughed."I guess so!"

"Oak?"Dr. Ko gave both of them piercing looks."You know Oak."

"We're from Pallet Town," Ivonar replied.

"Ah.Ah ha."He shoved the binder in his hands toward Remmy."Deliver that to him if you will, then.He'll probably want to study the thing, regardless of its personality disorder.No need to burn wasted research if it can be of help to different studies."

Remmy took the binder with a frown."Um… I have a question."

"Hmm?"The doctor raised one thick eyebrow."Make it quick.I've work to do."

"I have a Raichu.I got her as a Pikachu, and she evolved – without a Thunderstone."

"Oh, really?"The other eyebrow went up."That's impossible.Go on."

"We were out in the middle of the woods.I didn't have one.Nobody did.It just… happened.At first it didn't seem so strange, but then I remembered that Pikachu need Thunderstones to evolve."

"Hmm… where is this Raichu?"

Remmy rummaged through his pockets, finally pulling out a pokéball."In here."

"Let me see it."

"Chia."The ball popped open.Cole immediately bounded over from where he and Static had been under one of the tables.The Raichu gave the black tail-tipped Eevee a rub on the head, making his fur stand on end.Cole snickered.

The doctor scowled thoughtfully.He took a tape measure from the pocket of his coat."Hold still."

"Chu?"Chia watched the strange man with a confused look on her face, as he measured the length of her ears, feet, nose, and tail, along with the width of the stripes on her back, the diameter of the circles on her cheeks, and the space between her eyes.

"As I thought."The tape measure snapped shut."Simple answer to that one."

"What is it?" Remmy asked.

"She ate one."

"She what?" Zan asked, sounding skeptical.

"The odd thing about LRGs is that Pokémon with them have some form of control.Those with them are capable of deciding whether or not to evolve, same as any other Pokémon.But judging by the measurements of this Raichu – longer ears and tail, larger electrical capacitors and tail tip, unusual height…"He pulled the tape measure open again, stepping on the bent end and lifting the measure to the top of Chia's ears."Almost exactly three feet."He shifted his foot, letting the tape measure snap shut once more."Too tall by almost half a foot.This Raichu has been overexposed to the radiation of a Thunderstone, which would mean she had to have virtually, if not literally, _carried_ it for several weeks, if not months, before evolving.So, the simplest solution is that she ate one.It was probably too large to pass out of her stomach while she was still a Pikachu, and it would take years for a Pikachu to digest a rock."

Chia giggled sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head."Raichu…"

"Wouldn't that give her an awful stomachache?" Zan asked.

"Probably," the doctor replied, dropping the tape measure back into his pocket, "especially after eating.But Pokémon are adaptable, and most aren't capable of human intelligence.After awhile, the Pikachu this Raichu was probably accepted the fact that she got a stomachache when she ate.She got used to it."He frowned."The question really is, why would she eat a Thunderstone?… and how did it manage to get into her stomach without her choking on it?"

"Maybe that's why she was at the Pokécenter," Ivonar suggested."Maybe she ate a Thunderstone and got really sick, and her trainer just left her there."

"Chu."Chia's ears drooped.

Remmy bent down, giving the Raichu's head a rub."Is that what happened?" he asked her.She shrugged a little, but her ears remained low."Don't worry.We're not leaving you anywhere."Chia purred slightly, smiling weakly.Her ears perked up again.

"Now, if you could please leave…"

"Nice seeing you again, Doc," Zan said pleasantly."Come on, Jester."

Doctor Ko gave him an odd look.For a moment, he looked as if he wanted to say something, but apparently decided against it."Best let yourselves out, I hate that door," he muttered, removing another binder from the shelf.He flipped through it slowly, ignoring them.

They started up the stairs again, Q still in Ivonar's arms."Maybe we should call Professor Oak," Ivonar said."Where's the Pokécenter?"

"Haven Town doesn't have one," Zan said, shaking his head.

"It _doesn't_?"

"Nope.We're pretty close to Viridian, so emergencies go there."

"It can wait, right?" Remmy asked.

"Yeah… I guess."

"There's a Pokéshop in town," Zan told them."It's pretty good, if you need any supplies."

"I only have one more pokéball," Remmy admitted."I should have three, but I had to replace Mollie's and Drake's."

"It's not like we're getting anywhere else in this rain," Ivonar said, looking out the one narrow window in the tower's main room.She stuck out her tongue."Ugh."She gave Q a scratch under its chin."Maybe they'll let us use the phone."

They wrestled the door open and closed it as quickly as they could, rushing back to the truck."Uh-oh," Ivonar cringed."The door didn't close all the way.I hope the seat isn't wet."

"It better not be, 'cause that's where you're sitting," Zan replied, slipping into the driver's side."It looks okay."

Ivonar sighed in relief.Remmy climbed in first, settling in for the squeeze."Yeah, seat's dry."

"Good."Ivonar climbed in, slamming the door.With a metallic _thud_, it refused to close."Oh, come _on_…"She pushed it open again."Oh… whoops."

"I don't like whoopses in the company truck," Zan warned her.He was only half-teasing.

Ivonar laughed."Nothing's broken," she replied."The seatbelt's in the way, that's all."She pulled the seatbelt out of the door, and slammed the door shut."Okay," she said as she fastened the seatbelt around her."I'm set."

A bell jingled as the door shut behind them.Ivonar pulled her hood down."Hello?"The lights were on, but nobody looked home."Hello…"

"C'n I help you?"

Ivonar looked around.The shop was small… where could the voice's owner be hiding?"_Hello_?"

"Wait a min'nit."She heard some shuffling behind the counter, and something sliding across the floor.A silver-haired head peeked over the counter."C'n I help you?" the little girl asked again.

Ivonar smiled."Maybe.Can I use your phone?"

The girl nodded quickly, almost banging her head against the back of the counter."Hang on!"She jumped off the box she was standing on.Though they heard her footsteps as she rushed through the curtain leading to the supply room, and saw the curtain move, she was too small to see behind the counter.

Remmy went to a pokéball display, looking at it intently.He picked up two in each hand."Do we need potions or anything?"

"We might.How much do they want for them?"Ivonar went over to the shelf and checked the price."Not bad… even if we don't, it's better to be prepared."She took a couple off the shelf."This should be enough for an emergency."

The curtain moved again, and the girl jumped back on her box.She shoved a phone onto the counter."Here you go!"She pulled herself halfway onto the counter, peering at them curiously."Nice Persian.Where's his tail?"

"He lost it."Ivonar picked up the phone.For a moment she drew a blank."What's Professor Oak's number again?"

"Where'd he lose it?"

"A Growlithe hurt him when he was a Meowth."

"Oh."The curtain moved again.The girl looked toward it, then down."_No_, Flare.You stay."

Ivonar glanced over the counter even as Manx's nostrils flared."Cute Growlithe."

"We just got him.Flare, go back in there!"Manx growled low in his throat, setting the Eevees on edge; the Growlithe puppy sniffed the air curiously, apparently not hearing the Persian or the girl."_Flare_!"

The Growlithe looked at the girl."Graow?"

The girl pointed."Get back in there!"The puppy whimpered."Don't be a baby.I'll come back."

"Gralth…"

"Oh, shush.Get back there.Go!"She pointed again.Ears and tail drooping, the Growlithe reluctantly obeyed.

The girl peered over the counter at Manx, whose ears were glued to his skull, his fur standing on end, claws bared."He really don't like Growlithes, do he?"

"He has a good reason," Ivonar replied, dialing.

"Yeah, I know."Ivonar looked at her curiously, then remembered that she'd told her.She smiled slightly at herself, even as someone picked up on the other end."Hello, Professor!"

"Ivy?"Ivonar cringed."Oh, good!I was hoping to hear from you.How is your Psyduck?"

"Almost all better," she replied.

"That's good to hear.You'll be glad to hear something else.Where are you?Does it have a computer?"

She looked at the girl.The girl was frowning a little; apparently, she could hear what Professor Oak was saying."We got everything on computer," the girl replied."Why?"

"Why?" Ivonar echoed.

"I have an upgrade for your Pokédex."

She looked at the girl again."We're the Haven Town Pokéshop,"she said, with exaggerated formality.

"I'm at the Haven Town Pokéshop," Ivonar told him.

"All right… sending… hang on… and… there we go.It's sent."

The girl jumped down from the box."If you give me your Pokédex I'll upload it!" she said.

Ivonar smiled, pulling it out of her back pocket."Thanks."Remmy came up behind her, handing over his own.

"Wait – mine too."Zan grinned as he handed a beat-up looking one to the girl."Never turn down a free upgrade."The girl raced back into the supply room.

"Joshua Craine's shop!"Professor Oak sounded pleased."What brought you to Haven Town?"

"Our mysterious little Pokémon," Ivonar replied."It's a Cunone.And guess what?We get to keep it!"

"It's a-"Professor Oak didn't sound as happy as she thought'd he be."It's a what?"

"A Cunone."She frowned slightly."An extinct ancestor of Cubone.A doctor here created it and it got loose.He said he doesn't want it, so he gave it to us."

"Ko."There was a dark tone to Oak's voice."Yes, I've heard of Ko."There was a pause."Didn't think he was into raising extinct Pokémon."

"He said he wasn't."

"Well, this makes things a bit awkward…"The girl raced back with the Pokédexes."Have you got the upgrade yet? It says it was downloaded…"

"Yes, just got them now."

"Point your Pokédex at… have you got it with you?"

"It's back in the truck."Remmy put the pokéballs on the counter."I'll be right back."He hurried outside, not bothering to put up his hood.Static splashed around in the truck bed; Cole peered out at him from the other side of the passenger side door's window.He pulled open the door, careful not to spill the Eevee outside."Hey, Q, come on."He opened his jacket at the collar."You have to come inside for a little while, okay?"

Q was sitting on the floor on the passenger's side, looking pleased with itself."Q?"It frowned."Q!" it refused.

"It's okay – I promise you won't get wet."

It banged its bar on the floor."Q!" it snapped again.Then it smiled, almost slyly."No!"

Remmy blinked."No?" he echoed.

"Cu-no _no_!" it said.

Remmy rolled his eyes slightly."_Now_ you get a bigger vocabulary."Q grinned."Come on.It's just for a few minutes, and I promise you won't get wet.Please?"

Q looked away, toward the seats."Coon…" It snorted a little, getting up slowly.It hopped down the front of his jacket.He closed the top button and hurried back inside, making sure the door shut behind him."It didn't want to come," he explained.

"It's okay," Ivonar said."It's here, Professor.Hang on."She took her Pokédex off the counter and flipped it open.Remmy pulled Q out of his jacket, holding it in one arm.

A modified picture of Q appeared, complete with its helmet and bar."_Q_," the Pokédex chirped."_The Confused Pokémon.Only one is known to exist.Bears similarities to Cubone, but appears to use metal rather than bone as its weapons._"

"You added Q to the Pokédex?" Ivonar cried into the phone.She laughed.

"Well… yes," Professor Oak replied sheepishly."Cunone… a _Cunone_!"

Ivonar tapped a few keys on her Pokédex."_Cunone_," it said, its screen blank."_A prehistoric ancestor to Cubone.No complete skeletons have yet been found._"

"Even the upgrade's obsolete," Zan said, smirking a little.

"_It is assumed Cunone also made use of bones as weapons, though they may also have used wood or rock._"

"Or whatever struck their fancy," Zan added.

"You said Ko is letting you _keep_ it?"

Ivonar nodded, before realizing that nodding was a silly thing to do.This was a normal phone; Professor Oak couldn't see her nod."Uh-huh.He complained that it bit him a lot, and that since it decided to use weapons it couldn't have had access to as a normal Cunone, then he didn't want it."

"Sounds like Ko all right."Professor Oak didn't sound very happy.

"He gave us a big binder of stuff on Q to give to you."

"He did?" he asked, obviously stunned.

"He said he didn't think… um… that research shouldn't go to waste, or something like that."

"I see… that… could be interesting," he admitted.

"We'll mail it to you," she offered.

"Oh, good!C.O.D. will be fine – cash-on-delivery."

"Oh… okay."

"It's perfectly all right.You need your money."

"Okay."She looked at the girl, who had a slightly pointed look on her face."I… I think that's it.I better go – I'm tying up the phone."

"All right.It was good speaking to you, Ivy.How is Joey?"

"Joey?"She looked at Remmy, who raised an eyebrow."He's fine, why?"

"No reason, just curious.Hope you're staying dry – the weather is miserable here!"

"It's pretty nasty here, too."

"Well, keep dry. Hope to talk to you soon!"

"Great talking to you, Professor.Bye!"She hung up."Thanks," she told the girl.

"That wasn't long distance, was it?" the girl asked, giving her a dagger-sharp look.

"Nope."

"Okay."She grinned, taking the phone, and rushing it back into the storage room.A moment later she rushed back, leaping back onto her box."Is that it?" she asked, looking at the two potions and four pokéballs.

"Do you have some antidotes?" Ivonar asked.

The girl rolled her eyes."Hang _on_," she moaned, making another trip to the storage room."How many you want?" she shouted.

"Three's enough!" Ivonar called back.

She came back with three antidotes."Is _that_ it?"

"Yeah, that's it."

"Just-"The girl glared at Zan, who grinned teasingly. "Never mind."She stuck her tongue out at him.

Once it was in the cab, Q leaped to the floor."Hey, move a little," Ivonar scolded it."I have to put my feet there."It glared at her with a scowl, shifting forward a little."What's got your tail in a knot?"

"Unc."

"Well, yeah, same to you."She nudged it with her foot, trying to get foot space."Come on!"She frowned."_Now_ you have to get difficult?"

"Coo."Q stuck the bar in its mouth and tried to belly-crawl under the seat, but the pot on its head made it impossible.It sat down, looking a little miffed."Q."

Ivonar peered under the seat."You okay under there, Fluff?" she asked, reaching under to give the Eevee a pet."You're awful quiet."

"Vee," Fluffball replied, raising her head.She squeaked as she knocked her head against the top of the seat.

Ivonar frowned.Something about Fluffball didn't look… right, somehow."Fluffball?"

Fluffball blinked sleepily."Vee," she said again, then yawned widely."Yeevee."

"Sit up, Eevee," Zan warned her as he started the ignition."I don't want to hear you hit your head on the glove compartment."

"Does somebody have a flashlight?" she asked, not sitting up.She reached under the seat, giving Fluffball a gentle pet.Fluffball rewarded her with a grumpy glare."Fluffball looks kinda funny."

"She _has_ been under the seat all day," Remmy pointed out.

"There's a flashlight in the glove compartment," Zan replied."Better sit up before opening it, though."

Ivonar did.The flashlight was easy to see: it, a badly folded map, and a bunch of certificates were the only things in the glove compartment.She leaned down again, flicking it on – and yelped.

"What's wrong?" Remmy demanded.

"Fluffball's tail's green!" Ivonar cried.She slid off the seat, scrunching into the foot space with Q.Q gave her a look of tolerant annoyance."What happened, Fluff?"

Fluffball yawned again, giving her trainer a look of annoyance without the slightest bit of tolerance."Yev," she chirped grumpily.

An ear flicked.Ivonar yelped again.The ear looked like it was coming from Fluffball's back!"Gree?"The voice was higher than Fluffball's, more squeak-like.The ear twitched again, and the green tail moved aside, revealing Fluffball's more than normal one, as well as the owner of the green tail.

Ivonar laughed."You won't believe this!"

Zan banged on the door again."Hey, Doctor!" Ivonar yelled as loudly as she could."Hello!We found your Eevee!Doctor K-?"

The door jerked open almost a foot."_What_?" the man demanded, his voice a short snap.

Ivonar grinned, holding it out.

It was a little over a foot long, with thick, greenish fur a little matted from the rain.Its ears were held down to keep the water from pooling in them, but it still managed to look happy.In appearance it was no less than a stubby-legged Eevee with a purplish bulb on its back."Green!" it chirped."Greevee!"

Ivonar would not have thought it possible, but the Rattata-ish man broke a smile.He really, actually did."At last!" he cried, taking the creature from her quickly."Where have you been, rotten little pest?"The odd Eevee trilled, nudging his head with its chin."Thank you," the doctor said, his tone suggesting he'd never said those words before."I put a great deal of effort into this creature.Years upon years of research would have been wasted had she not been returned."The Eevee curled up in his arms and licked the bottom of his chin; Dr. Ko pretended not to notice.

"You're… welcome," Ivonar replied hesitantly.For somebody who cared about the odd little thing, he had a weird way of showing it.

"You know how it is, then," he said, rubbing the Eevee between the ears."The Bulbasaur's yours."

"The Bulbasaur?"Zan frowned thoughtfully."What about the Psyduck?"

"I've found other uses for it," Ko snapped in reply."Do you want the Bulbasaur or not?"

"I got Saurus," Remmy said, "but you don't have a Bulbasaur, Ivonar."

"I know…"Ivonar thought about the Bulbasaur curled up in the cage.It had seemed okay, but… she didn't really want to be _given_ Pokémon.That old grumpy Pikachu was one thing; this was another.

She thought too of the Psyduck with a shy smile, and hoped whatever that "use" was, was a good one.

And…

Ivonar shook her head."I have a better idea," she said.

Mrs. Marain looked up at the knock on the door.Frowning a little, she wiped her hands on her jeans as she went for the door."One moment!" she called.She made sure all the furniture polish was on her old jeans and wouldn't wipe off on the door before she opened it."Professor Oak!What brings you here?"A pit formed in her stomach."Is something wrong with Eev- with Ivonar?"She could never remember who knew Ivonar's nickname and who didn't.

"Oh, Ivy's fine," the man assured her with a smile."Actually, she sent something to me to give to you."He held out a pokéball."Here you are."

"A pokéball?"She took it hesitantly… then scowled."If she sent Manx back…"

Professor Oak laughed."Oh, no.From what I hear, she and Manx are actually getting along quite well.This is a Pokémon she just caught.She said to give it to you.She said to say something else… I just want to get the wording right."

She released the Pokémon as the Professor cleared his throat."An Eevee from your Eevee, to keep you company," he said.

The Pokémon coalesced into a ginger-furred Eevee with a tired expression.It looked old somehow, as if it wasn't quite healthy."Oh…"Mrs. Marain picked it up gently."Is it all right?"

"She seems to have been infected with some sort of mutant gene," Professor Oak replied."She won't be able to evolve, and her energy levels are permanently low.Definitely a pet."Mrs. Marain smiled slightly, stroking the Eevee gently.A stuttering purr rumbled from its throat."She said her name is Ten."

She looked at him, even as she continued to stroke the Eevee."Ten?"Her eyes widened."She's caught _ten_ Eevee?"

Professor Oak laughed sheepishly."Oh, no.Actually, that's the fifth Eevee Ivonar has… she found a whole nest of them.Cute little bunch.There's one that rides around on her shoulder… no, this one's number five.I don't know why she insisted she be called Ten."

"Thank you, Professor.Next time you hear from Ivonar, can you tell her something for me?"

"Why certainly."

"Tell her I love the Eevee… but I wish she'd call every once in awhile."

"I'll do that."

He stared into the cage, Green Eevee nestled comfortably in his arms.He'd forgotten she was there."Yes… yes…"

He'd removed the Farfetch'd, as she was simply being a bother.An incubation light was now strung across the top of the cage, keeping the rocking egg warm.

"That's it… a little… just a little more…"

A crack appeared, following by another.Slowly, the cracks joined together, and…

"FETCH!"The top of the egg slid aside, and a mustard-colored head appeared.Its bill was wide and flat, its eyes narrow and glaring.Its mouth was open wide to scream at anything within sight."FETCH!Fetch!_Psyfeeeeeetch!_"

Ivonar, Remmy, and Zan's time in Haven Town has come to an end, but Haven Town is not merely a stop on their way.If you wish to learn the fate that awaits Dr. Ko, the Green Eevee, the Psyfetch, and even the girl from the store several years from now, be sure to visit [Haven Town][1], here on Fanfiction.Net.

   [1]: http://www.fanfiction.net/master.cfm?action=story-read&storyid=7320



	11. Default Chapter Title

**_A Pallet Pair_**** #11:**

Fire On High

[ AN: "Fire On High" is an idea I came up with early on when I started writing Pallet Pair.As far as Pallet Pair go, this is something of a movie compared to the "episodes" of the others.Prepare for change… ]

_He pounced his smaller brother with a growl of challenge. Slowpoke! he taunted him, grinning._

_ Hah! Littler Brother replied.Littler Brother took a nip at his tail, but he missed. Catch me if you can! _

_ Why should I? he laughed. Why catch you when you haven't caught me? _

_ Come here! _

_ Make me! He whirled, then plowed into his other brother by accident.He rolled over in the grass, legs flopping, while Littler Brother laughed. No fair! he laughed, rolling back to his feet.He held his tail proudly above him. Roadblock! _

_ Goof, Other Brother grinned, giving him a soft cuff to the side of the face.He returned it affectionately.Of the three, he was the biggest: Other Brother was a little smaller, and Littler Brother was a bit smaller than him.It wasn't that Littler Brother was little, really: he was just the smallest of them.He himself was a bit large for his age, with legs that were really too long for him.His big, fat paws suggested he'd quickly grow into them, though._

_They fell to scuffling, all three of them, batting each other with the flats of paws and nipping at tails, not caring whose they bit – even if it turned out to be their own.If one of his brothers fell out of the pile, he'd pin the other, only to get tackled by the one who was free._

_A loud, agonized yowl broke through their play, sending all three apart, their fur on end. Mom? they shouted in unison, racing out of the shallow burrow that served as their den._

_ Mom! Littler Brother shouted again, but he shushed him._

_ Stealth! he warned his brothers, crouching down on his too-big paws and stretching his tail out stiffly for balance.His brothers followed close behind, all three tracking their mother's scent through the grass._

_The yowl came again, and the unmistakable sound of a human voice._

_"Get 'im, Flameagle!" the human cried, not that they understood him.His voice was high with youth and shrill with malice."Agility!Bite!Ember!Bite, bite, bite!Ha!Again!"_

_They could hear their mother yowling, hissing, spitting obscenities, shouting taunts and catcalls and threats.But too little of what they heard from her were words: far too much of it was pain.Lots and lots of pain._

_"Ha!Not so tough, huh?Flamethrower, Flameagle!Now!"Then, with dangerous annoyance, "I said _now_!"_

_They were close enough to hear the rush of fire, to see the gleam of it not too far away, but they were still far enough not to feel the heat of it.Their mother shrieked._

_ Mom! Other Brother yelped._

_ Bo-yes! Her voice was slurred, slick. Boys, run! _

_ Mom, are you all right?What's happening? he demanded._

_ RUN! she snarled, making them all start upright.She never spoke that way, ever._

_Upright, out of the grass, they could now see everything clearly: their mother, her fur charred nearly completely black, ears burned completely off, her weight barely held up between three half-functioning legs; the human, small and thin, dark-skinned and pale-haired and staring at them in surprise._

_And the demon, the fire thing, all flame-fur and glistening teeth and smoking breath._

_"What's this?" the human cried.The boys stared at him dumbly, not understanding a word he said.A smile crept over his face, one that set their ears back and their hackles up.They hissed in chorus."Flameagle!" the boy crowed."Get them."_

_ RUN! their mother howled._

_ RUN! he echoed, sparing each brother a nasty glare as he stood his ground.He turned his eyes toward the slowly approaching demon, his ears back, his teeth bared, claws extended.His claws, like his paws, were big for his age; he was the fastest of the three, the largest, the best to take on this creature that was twice his size. His brothers scrambled for safety, his mother screamed, as they met head-on._

_He knew he didn't have a chance the moment they collided._

_In an instant he was reeling, reeling from the pain that seemed to come from everywhere.He could barely see, but what he could was all in red: the demon's red fur, the red grass.Red grass?No… grass wasn't red.But it was, and wet, too, though it hadn't rained.His paws were red…red and wet.Had he got it?Had he got the demon?_

_No, he was sure he hadn't landed a blow.The blood wasn't on his claws from a swipe; it was there because his paws were bleeding.His big, useless paws…_

_Nothing made sense anymore.His heart had found its way into his skull, and was pounding away, harder than the demon pounded away at him.He skidded uselessly over the grass as it tackled him ruthlessly.The human laughed, a high, squealing sound that made his head ache even more.His feet and tail felt limp; he couldn't move them.He couldn't move at all._

_"What's going on here?"A new human, older, female._

_The human he could barely see looked frightened for a moment, then pulled two, two-colored balls from his clothing."Flameagle, return!" he barked.The demon disappeared in a flare of red.The human threw the other ball._

_He tried to cry out to her, but he couldn't tell if she could see him.If she would hear.He tried to cry out, but only a whine similar to that of the ball dissolving her to nothing escaped his damaged throat._

_The human snatched the ball, and ran._

_The human wasn't the only thing running.Something else, two-footed, heavier."Oh-!" a human yelped.Numbly, he felt fingers wrap around his middle.Another human spoke in the background."Get a pokéball!" the human holding him yelled.They tucked him close to them, wrapping him tightly into their upper garment."And call Professor Oak!We need his transporter!"_

_He tried to call for his brothers, but all that escaped him was a gurgling warble. I'm here… he choked.The redness he could see faded to black._

_ _

_ _

_Red had become black… for how long he didn't know.But black eventually – painfully – turned suddenly to white.He yowled at the pain of it._

_"His eyes must be a bit sensitive.He's been out for awhile."_

_"Can I hold him?"_

_"No, Eevee.He's very badly hurt, and besides, he's still wild.It's too dangerous."_

_"But-!"_

_"No!"_

_He growled softly: wherever he was stank of humans.He forced his feet under him, cringing at the aches that ran through him.Everything felt numb, unreal.Wrong._

_Something was wrong._

_He remembered what'd happened… too clearly, he remembered.Where he was, well, that was still vague, and didn't matter at the moment.He lashed his tail in frustration._

_Then he did it again._

_It… it didn't feel right._

_He frowned, looking behind him._

_He blinked._

_He stood, wobbling on his uncertain paws.One of the back ones was completely husked: one of the front ones was husked from the knee down.He didn't care.Still, he stood, and stared.He turned in a circle, then another, trying to come to grips with what he saw… or didn't see._

_In his mind, he could feel it lashing with his unease and disbelief.His mind was telling him, that yes, his tail was thrashing away, dancing like a Caterpie fighting capture._

_But it wasn't._

_His tail!Where was his-_

Manx jerked awake with a harsh growl.In his mind, he could feel his tail lashing, but he knew his mind was lying.His tail was long gone… as long gone as that time.He opened his mouth, taking a deep scenting of the air: it smelled heavily of smoke.Of course: the humans had let their fire burn out.That was what had set off the memories… too much smoke in the air.

Static looked at him worriedly.Sweetie was in her place at Ivonar's side; Cole was curled up with Chia, on Remmy's sleeping bag.He could see the lump by Ivonar's feet that was Fluffball, within the sleeping bag.Static had found it too warm in there; he had curled up between Manx's paws for the night.His sudden movement had awakened him. Dad? he said. You okay? 

He ran his tongue over Static's forehead, making a mock-attempt to bring some of his stiff fur to order. Dreams, nothing more, he grunted.He rest his chin on Static's head for a moment, the rest it back on the ground. Go back to sleep. 

Poe shifted his weight back, taking a deep breath, and let loose a powerful Water Gun – straight into a tree that barely felt it.He turned to his companion, blinked a bit, then gestured toward the tree.

"Psi…"Nuisance didn't look very convinced.He, too, leaned back, taking a _deep_ breath… 

… and nothing happened.

"Psyyyyyy…"Nuisance shook his head.It just wasn't working.He scratched his head. Maybe I used too much energy in psychic attacks to learn water ones, he suggested tiredly.

You're just still weak, that's all, Poe disagreed, patting his narrow shoulder. Keep working at it.Maybe Drake should help you… 

Nuisance shook his head again. Who helps me doesn't matter, he replied, rubbing a little at his forehead. If it comes to me, it'll come to me.Some time.When I need it to. He smiled weakly. Eventually. 

Poe patted him on the shoulder. Keep at it. 

"You know," Ivonar said, slipping the pot off the spit, "I really wish I knew what they were talking about."

Remmy grinned as he pulled a pair of bowls from his knapsack."You mean you haven't figured it out yet?"

"I'm getting there, I'm getting there… ooh, hot!"She put the pot down quickly."Pot's going to be scorched, the potholders are doing nothing.This is what we get for me cooking!"

He laughed."It's okay.Better the pot than lunch."

Ivonar flopped down beside the pot."I guess.It _looks_ okay…"She fished in her bag for the ladle."At least Poe and Drake'll get things clean easy.I never would've thought of using Pokémon attacks for cleaning dishes."

"That's because you never taught Nuisance any water attacks.We don't need a dishwasher with Foshe – that's my dad's Seadra."He snickered, grinning suddenly."We have to be careful though – we can't let him wash them if he's in a bad mood, or he'll break every one of them.Sometimes I think it'd be cheaper if we _did_ get the dishwasher – save us some dishes!"

Ivonar laughed."Probably wouldn't save much.Ours is always breaking… and Mom grumbles so much about having to wash them by hand when we have a dishwasher, even if the dishwasher isn't working… it's so funny sometimes.She can't trust Toby to do it because he's so clumsy… me too, sometimes.And Daddy never remembers…"She giggled, taking one of the bowls from him and ladling the soup into it, careful not to splash it out."You can always tell what night was Daddy's night to clean the dishes because they'd be there in the morning!"

He chuckled, trading the empty bowl he still held for the full one.He hissed a little, setting it down before he burned himself.

"Careful," Ivonar warned him.

"I am."He chuckled again, leaning back to get his spoon out of his bag.

"Char?"Ivonar looked around."Where'd she go?"

"She and Chia're sparring, I think."

"Where?"He gestured off to their right.She plopped down next to him, almost spilling her soup on herself."You sure?"A bright flash of orange and yellow light answered her."Er… never mind."

He sat in a tree, resting his chin in his hand thoughtfully.The other hand he held almost protectively over the row of pokéballs clipped to his belt."What do you think, Maven?" he murmured, tapping one finger against his chin and another on the second pokéball."They have quite a pretty Persian down there I bet you'd love to get your claws into."Below, the large, ivory Persian had its snout buried in the soup pot as the two trainers cleaned their bowls in companionable silence."Look at them," he sneered softly, smiling mischievously."I've sat here for an hour and they're totally unaware.Pathetic."He snickered.

The Persian below snorted, raising its head, its ears rotating in his direction.He fell silent as it peered around.

"What is it, Manx?" the girl asked, looking at the Persian.

Manx?What sort of name was that for so fine a creature?He looked more closely at the Persian, and saw, to his surprise, that the name was appropriate: the creature had no tail.He had assumed it was tucked beneath the feline's body, but now he saw, quite clearly, that that was not the case.He smiled slowly, tapping his finger again on Maven's pokéball.

The Persian below snorted a bit, but did not return its nose to the pot.Instead it nudged it toward a half-grown Eevee sitting beside it, which clambered into it, eager to get what the Persian had missed.The Eevee had a peculiar, stiff pelt that gave it the appearance of having been recently electrocuted.

He'd been somewhat startled by the four Eevees the trainers had between them.One, pitifully small, rarely left the girls shoulders; one with a thick coat had wandered off to watch with another – one with an odd, black tail tip – as a Charmander and Raichu sparred together.

He frowned thoughtfully, running his finger down the line of pokéballs clipped to his belt.

The boy put his dish down in front of him.He looked thoughtful for a moment."You want to battle?"

The girl gave him a startled look, then laughed."Are you kidding?You'd win in thirty seconds."

"Not necessarily.You know my tricks.We haven't seen anybody in a long time; we're gonna get out of practice."

The girl frowned a little."You have a knack at this.I don't."

"Stop underestimating yourself."He grinned suddenly."Chia and Char've already got a head start on us.And Char's been kind of miffed that she hasn't been in a real battle in a while."

"I guess…"The girl sighed, standing up and stretching, her bowl in one hand, her spoon in the other.The stiff-furred Eevee trilled, staring up at the dish.The girl giggled, putting the dish down for it."Eh, sure, why not," she said."As long as you take a couple of the Eevees for the battle."

"Huh?"

"That way we're eight on eight.The Eevees need some experience: they're getting old enough to start battling.I want to start training them against each other a little.They can't learn completely by pouncing each other."

The boy nodded."Good idea.Which ones should I use?"

"Cole, definitely.He's getting to be more yours anyway.Static or Fluffball, take your pick."

He smiled to himself."Can it wait?" he spoke, making both trainers jump.The girl looked around, startled, but the boy looked immediately in the right direction.

"Who's there?" the boy demanded, frowning slightly.

He smiled, jumping down from his perch."Just a trainer like yourselves," he replied simply, patting the pokéballs clipped to his belt."I overheard mention of a need for battle.Perhaps you would like to battle me before you battle each other?"

The two traded looks."Where'd you come from?" the girl asked.The Persian growled, sounding uncertain.The stiff-furred Eevee ran under it, as if taking cover.

He smiled patiently, though inwardly he rolled his eyes.He pointed at the tree from which he'd observed them, and shrugged.The girl frowned, obviously disliking his answer.

"And before that?" the boy asked politely.

He shrugged."I've been nearly everywhere," he replied evenly."Where I was last is not important.What's important is whether or not I'm wasting time talking to people when we could be battling."

"How do you want it?" the girl asked."Two three on threes?"

"Or maybe three two on twos," the boy suggested, grinning at the girl, who shrugged.

"Actually," he replied, smiling faintly, "I prefer two on one."He gestured to them both."I challenge both of you to defeat me – using as many Pokémon as you like."His smile grew, becoming almost warm."I also propose a minor wager."All warmth left his expression."If you win, I give you one of my Pokémon."He patted his belt again."If I win… I choose one of yours."

"Never!" the girl snapped.

"Forget it," the boy agreed a split moment later.

"No?"He feigned disappointment, but by now he was used to the initial refusal."But you seem to have plenty to spare."

"No deal," the girl repeated, glaring at him.The Persian snarled under its breath.

He shrugged slightly, as if it didn't matter."As you say," he replied lightly."We'll see when we're done."He smiled at them both."Shall we battle?"

"Who are you?" the boy asked.

He smiled slightly."Call me Billy," he replied.

Ivonar looked at Remmy, who shrugged a little.Then she looked back at their challenger.He looked a few years older than they, but a bit on the short side; at most he was an inch taller than Ivonar.His skin was richly tanned, but his hair, by contrast, was pale blond.His dull jade eyes fell in between, neither dark nor light."Well?" he asked again.He smiled vaguely.

"Let's get everybody rounded up first," Ivonar said to Remmy.He nodded slightly."The Pokémon who aren't battling into their pokéballs."Manx growled softly, never taking his eyes from the stranger."Manx, do you want to go first?"Manx made a chuffing sound, sitting slowly, with Static still between his paws.He looked like a peculiar idol, glowering and cold, with the Eevee between his forepaws."Manx?"He glanced toward her, snorting, and returned to staring at the other human, his eyes narrowed suspiciously.She chose to see that as a yes… though it was one that sat very poorly with her.As soon as she returned Char, Nuisance, and Poe to their pokéballs, she took Static away from Manx and placed him where the they'd decided to have the other Eevees stay – namely, in a small thicket where Q had been taking a nap.The Cunone was now wide awake, but remained where it was, keeping the Eevees corralled.

"All right," Ivonar said, taking a stand.Manx got to his feet, baring his teeth slightly.Remmy stood just behind her, hands in his pockets.His position was casual, but Ivonar knew better: his pokéballs were in his pockets."We're ready."

The stranger smiled a little."Let's start this out simply," he suggested calmly."That's a magnificent Persian you have there."He unclipped the second pokéball from his belt."But I think mine's more unique.Remember… as many Pokémon as you wish.Don't be shy."He held out his hand."I choose Persian!" he snapped, his voice harsh.The pokéball popped open obediently, allowing its occupant to appear before its master.Ivonar gasped.

It was large, a little larger than Manx, with the same long-legged grace to it… but there the resemblance ended.Its fur was an unnatural, almost painful-looking black; it snarled at them with jagged teeth."_Mraaaw_!" it roared, lashing its mostly-black tail.The only parts of it that weren't black were a few flecks of natural ivory on its tail and paws.It lowered its head in challenge, but did not do the same with its ears… for a very simple, pathetic reason.

It didn't have any.

"What happened to its ears?" Ivonar asked, looking at the challenger in surprise.

His smile was cruel.It sent shivers up and down her spine."How happened to yours' tail?" he replied mysteriously.

"_Nraow_!" Manx yelped, eyes wide.

She was a magnificent female, some years his senior, though her fur was the color of a fire pit and her earlobes had been long removed. Forgive me! were the first words that she spoke from between wordless snarls, surprising him. I will do as ordered, she growled low in her throat, lowering her head challengingly. Even if it means killing you. 

He stared at her, as if staring could jog what it was that pounded between his ears… a feeling, a sensation, that screamed at him not to fight.

Then the sensation – the memory – overwhelmed him.

_Her scent_.

---_ RUN! she snarled, making them all start upright.She never spoke that way, ever._

Upright, out of the grass, they could now see everything clearly: their mother, her fur charred nearly completely black, ears burned completely off, her weight barely held up between three half-functioning legs; the human, small and thin, dark-skinned and pale-haired and staring at them in surprise---

MOM?! he yelped, ears flicking erect again.It couldn't be!Not possibly…He looked at the human she stood before… and then his lips curled back, his ears laid back, and with a hungry snarl, he lunged. MONSTER! he roared.

The dark-skinned, pale-haired male spoke something, and she came between them, knocking him aside with one paw. Mother, it's _me_! he cried, shaking off the hard cuff. It's ME! 

She glared at him coldly.

Of course… her nose must also be damaged.That had to be it.He couldn't have made her forget, forget the three boys the monster had made her abandon – especially not the one who'd made certain the other two got away.If her nose were damaged at all, she might not remember his smell… or recognize it.Hers was changed with her form, as his was.And he was full-grown now – he smelled like a male, not completely like the kitten he had been.

The human ordered her to attack; his own ordered an agile dodge.He did so; he had no intention of hurting her. Mother, please, he pleaded, rearing to his hind legs to dodge her claws but keeping his forepaws down to protect his underside.He pranced backwards on his hind legs. Mother, it's me, Biggest Brother! he insisted, falling to all fours and rolling out of her range.His human ordered an attack, but he ignored her. Mother, _please_! 

"MANX!" his human shouted."I said F_ury Swipes_!"

"Maven, do as she says," the other said, sounding smug.

What has he done to you?! he cried, backing up several steps as she continued to try to claw him. Mom, STOP ATTACKING ME! 

STOP CALLING ME THAT! she snarled, landing a blow across his muzzle.He snorted, as blood plugged his nose momentarily.He backed off, ears lowered unthreateningly. My sons… she snarled softly, her voice laden with hatred, …are dead. 

No, he replied.He shook his head, snorting more blood out of his nose.

I'm not. He glared toward the pale-haired human. He stole you from us.He took you away with that fire demon! He roared in challenge, but not at the other Persian: his challenge was for the human alone. _YOU STOLE MY MOTHER!_ he screamed, charging forward in a full sprint.

"Manx, _stop it_!" his human cried, horrified.

"Maven, _stop him_!" hers shouted angrily.

She tackled him, sending him reeling.Maven… was that what the monster had named her? Stop this nonsense at once! She – Maven, Mother – snarled at him, lowering her head dangerously.Her white-speckled tail stretched out behind her. Don't make me have to kill you, youngling. 

That… isn't how this works, Manx snapped. This is a battle, Mother. 

Stop calling me that! she spat at him.Her head lowered further, her legs tensing.A scrap of flesh that was all that remained of her left ear was flat to her skull.

And you obviously haven't been in a real battle before, child. 

Battles are not to the death! 

Then they are not battles, even! 

"Maven, I'd say this Persian needs a lesson," her human said.

"I'm sorry, I don't know what's wrong with him!" his human apologized.Idiot."He's never been this way!"

"Maven, he attacked _me_," her human continued, ignoring his.He sighed."Beat him within an inch of his life."

"_HEY_!" his human snarled.

"Chia, Thundershock!"

NO! he roared at the Raichu before she could move.Maven slashed his nose again.Chia blinked, looking at her trainer, then at him.

"Remmy, what are you doing?!" his human yelled at the other.

Maven's trainer smirked."I did say, I challenge you both.Go on, 'Remmy'."

"Recall Manx, Ivonar," the other snapped."He's not going to attack.He's just letting himself get beaten out there."

"But why?Manx, come back here!"He growled at her, hackles raised."Manx!"Maven tackled him again, sending him skidding.

Billy shook his head, clicking his tongue."Such poor training," he chided her.

Ivonar didn't understand it.Manx wouldn't fight, he wouldn't let Chia fight, and he wouldn't come back.Why was he protecting Billy's Persian?And why did he keep trying to attack Billy?"Manx, what is wrong with you?" she yelled at him.He dragged himself to his feet, snarling vaguely in her direction.

Something wasn't clicking.Something about the black fur of Billy's Persian… and how it had no ears, like Manx-

Like Manx!

"Wait, time out!" she shouted.Billy looked startled.Without orders, his Persian stopped."Billy, where'd you get your Persian?"

He looked at her boredly."I caught it," he replied.

"As a Meowth?"

"Yes…" he admitted slowly.

Ivonar swallowed at the dead feeling that threatened to make her ill."With a fire Pokémon?"

Billy sighed, making the single swoop of faintly greenish blond hair that fell over his face blow upward.The rest of his hair went almost entirely back."What is the point of all this?"

"How many years ago?Where?" she demanded.

"Please get to your point."

"When, and _where_?"

Billy rolled his eyes."A few years ago, somewhere between Viridian and Pallet, I think.Your point being?"

Ivonar's eyes narrowed."Were there any others?"

"Eevee…?"Remmy's tone was questioning.

Maven sat by her trainer's heel.Billy rubbed her head."She might have… I don't really remember."

"Did your _fire Pokémon_ rip off her _ears_?"

"Ivonar!"Though he was talking to her, Remmy shot a glance at Manx, who was panting heavily.

"No," Billy replied easily.He gave Maven's head a pat.She flinched slightly."They burned off."

Ivonar's lips pulled back in disgust."How… how _dare_ you!" she shouted."How could you EVER do that to Pokémon!To _anything_!"

Billy gave her a bored look."Weren't we battling?" he chided her, as if the current problem was of no fault of his own.

"You _monster_!"Manx growled challengingly at him in agreement."There were, weren't there!And you just left them, didn't you!"

Billy sighed, as if the conversation were boring him out of his mind."Perhaps she had a runty kit or two."Maven bowed her head."They ran away, though, the pathetic creatures."He chuckled."Except one.Even more pathetic… it thought it had a chance."

Manx roared, teeth fully bared, claws digging into the ground.He crouched, ready to lunge, ears pasted to his skull, hackles raised.Maven mirrored the position, tail out straight and fur bristling.

"You ripped out Manx's tail!" Ivonar accused.

"Did I?"Billy crossed his arms."Why would I do such a thing?Not I, never."

"How could you do such a thing?!" Ivonar yelled."To a defenseless kitten!"

Billy snorted."If he's the one who attacked my Growlithe, it's his fault."He pulled the first pokéball off his belt."Well, let's see… does this Persian remind you of anyone, Flameagle?"The ball opened, letting out the Pokémon inside.In a flare of red, the creature took form, mostly orange fur with white and brown so dark it was almost black, its fangs bared, its hackles raised, ready for battle.

It was the biggest Growlithe Ivonar had ever seen.Over three feet long, it had to be close to seventy pounds worth of canine.It was as big as Manx, something that simply should not have been possible.

Manx let out a strangled growl.

Was _that_ what he had tangled with?

It had gotten bigger with age, but then, so had he.It had been a puppy, an infant like him… but a trained infant, an infant with human training behind its instinct.

Now, they were on equal ground.

He threw himself at the enormous Growlithe, claws and teeth bared.

"Flameagle, Agility!" Billy shouted.The Growlithe avoided Manx's attack.

"Manx, Mirror Move and Fury Swipes!" Ivonar snapped."Now!"With barely a twist, Manx met Flameagle's dodge, tearing into its snout with his claws.Flameagle yelped.

"Flameagle, Body Slam!"

"Agility!"

"Take Down!"

"Double Team and Take Down!"

Flameagle's barely missed, but the Take Down landed.Then, suddenly, there were four Manxs for Flameagle to deal with, all of which hit it at once from different directions.

"Flameagle!I want you to Fire Cross every _one_ of those Persians!" Billy howled."Now!"

"Manx, don't get hit!" Ivonar shouted.

"You are _really_ starting to annoy me, child!" Billy chided her.

"Chia!" Remmy ordered.

"Chu?"

"Get ready."

"Rai…"Chia's cheeks sparked, but she looked uncertain.

"Drake.Fairie.Ratzy."The three Pokémon came out of their balls."Get ready."

Billy smiled thinly."What are you waiting for?A sparring partner?All right, then…"He patted the Persian on the head."Maven, target the Clefairy or the Dratini… your choice."

Drake chirped, eyes narrowing.Ratzy chattered a challenge, stepping in front of Fairie.For her part, Fairie stared dumbly about her, trying to figure out what was going on.

The char-furred Persian stepped forward, tail out straight, head lowered.

"Scythe?Bully?Join in the fun."He pulled the other two balls from his belt, releasing two more Pokémon."Scythe, clear the way, Bully, go for the Raichu!"

"_Scyther_!"the Scyther cried, slashing the bushes with its blades, giving the bulky Tauros room to move.Chia yelped as she blasted the Tauros with a Thunderbolt it shook off with an eerie amount of ease.It barely slowed as it slammed Chia into a tree.Chia squealed in pain.

"Char!Poe!Ro!Kakuna!"There were two flares above her head, two below, as The Kakuna and Ro appeared in the air and Poe and Char appeared at her feet.

This wasn't a battle.

This was a fight.

"Ro, Kakuna, Fury Attacks to the Tauros!" she snapped."Poe, target that Growlithe!Char, Flamethrow that Scyther, _now_!"

"Drake, Water Gun that Growlithe!" Remmy barked."Ratzy, Quick Attack Tauros but careful of the Fury Attacks!Fairie – Metronome, now!Saurus, protect Fairie, let her get her attack!"

With a bright flare of red light, Saurus appeared before Fairie as Fairie started swinging her fingers from side to side.Poe and Drake tried to catch Flameagle in a crossfire of powerful Water Guns, but Flameagle sprinted forward, catching Manx in another Take Down and avoiding the sprays of water.

"Nuisance," Ivonar said quietly.With a small _pop_ and a brief flare of light, the Psyduck appeared at her feet.He looked about, startled, then at her."We're going to need your psychic attacks," she said sadly.

Nuisance frowned slightly, as if understanding… then waddled away as fast as he could, dodging between Bully's legs to leap into the thicket where Q and the Eevees were hidden.For an instant she feared he'd run in panic – when she heard the tell-tale _clang_! of Q's bar against Nuisance's skull.He'd understood.She flinched inwardly, forcing herself to pay attention to the battle, and prayed that Billy didn't have any psychic Pokémon in pokéballs he didn't keep on his belt.It was painfully obvious that his Pokémon had been training far longer than hers or Remmy's – and that they as were used to being teamed up upon as they were to teaming up in return.The Scyther had made short work of the trees and bushes, easily opening the clearing into something over six times its original size, all the while agilely dodging Char's attempts to Flamethrow and Ember it.Many of the piles of debris burst into flame."Char, be careful!" Ivonar warned her."We don't need the whole place burning up!"Heeding the warning, Char started taking more careful aim, but still the Scyther was too fast.

Likewise, Poe and Drake were having trouble landing a blow of the Growlithe.With or without Agility, it was simply too fast.

Ivonar fought to keep up with Billy, but he, too, was far more experienced at an all-out Pokémon brawl.

Things were looking bad.

Scythe tore through the bushes heedlessly, taking no note of anything but the other Pokémon.Wild Pidgey flew away as fast as they could: a wild Spearow tried to Peck the Scyther, only to be smacked aside with the flat of a metallic blade.

Then, it stopped.

"Scy?" it chirped, startled.It hung in midair, blades ready to slash into the thicket hiding the four Eevee, the Cunone, and…

"Psi."

He waddled out, looking up at the bug that was over twice as tall as he was.Scythe looked down at him in return, and visibly sneered."Scyther!" it yelled, its shoulders straining, but it could not move.

"Nice Disable, Nuisance," Ivonar told him tightly.

"Bully, Takedown that Psyduck!" Billy snapped.

"Nuisance, Confusion!"

Nuisance put his fingertips together, closing his eyes.The Scyther fell to the ground, landing on its feet: it lifted its blades, preparing to slash downward, even as Bully shook off another electric attack and charged."Pssssssyyyyy…"The Psyduck threw his stubby arms apart: an invisible wave sent the Scyther and Tauros tumbling gracelessly backwards.

"What was that?" Billy demanded.

"I dunno, but I like it!" Ivonar replied.

Billy grimaced."Maven!Flameagle!Both of you, Agility and Takedown!Get that Psyduck!"  
Nuisance put his fingertips together again."Pssssssyyyyy…"

Maven was closer than Flameagle: Nuisance wasn't going to have enough time.

"Q, Bone Club, _now_!" Remmy shouted.

"What?"Billy's eyes passed over the Pokémon: which was Q?Bone Club was a Cubone attack, and there were no-

"_Q_!"Q sprang out of the thicket, bar in paw.It leaped easily over Nuisance, bringing the bar down hard on Maven's skull.Manx roared as the black, earless Persian was sent skidding over the grass.Q scrambled after her, getting out of the way as Nuisance unleashed his attack, sending Flameagle flying.

This wasn't working.

Had those been their only Pokémon, it would have, but they weren't: where had that… that Cubone creature come from?His favorite four would have taken care of the eleven easily, but they had had one in reserve.

He was losing.

He had never lost, not since he was little, and just starting out.

He was not going to lose.

"Flameagle!" Billy roared."To me!"

"Poe, Drake, Water Gun Flameagle while it's weak!" the boy shouted.He was good.The girl was still trying to play things "fair", do things by their boring rules. The boy was trying to win, just as Billy was.The more worthy opponent.His Pokémon would greatly help Billy's collection: he had neither a Dratini nor a Clefairy.The girl's Pokémon were common, but that Psyduck… it was so powerful.She could not have trained it herself…

He needed it taken out.Immediately.

He always knew he'd have to do this eventually.

Flameagle ran to his side, limping as she did.She looked up at him, her gaze blankly loyal.She was his first Pokémon, given to him by his father as a start to his Pokémon collection.As his father had pointed out, everyone had to start out somewhere.She'd been small and weak.Billy had quickly made her otherwise.

Now, it was time to go a step further.She'd learned all her attacks, and ones she shouldn't have been able to, but that he'd trained her hard.As hard as she could stand.Harder, sometimes, when need be.

"Flameagle," he said, his voice almost kind as he pulled the Fire Stone from his pocket, "evolve for me."He touched the stone to her forehead.

"This isn't good…." Ivonar said tightly, as the Growlithe turned blindingly white.

"Poe!Drake!" Remmy snapped."Water Gun, _now_!"

"Maven, Light Screen!" Billy snapped.Maven dragged herself to her feet: the Water Guns jerked sideways inches from their targets."Double Team!Take out those Water Pokémon!"Manx roared, sprinting toward the evolving Growlithe."Bully, stop him!"The Persian managed to dodge the attack, but now his angle of attack was wrong for Flameagle.Chia's cheeks sparked."Scythe, Quick Attack!"The Raichu tried to change her aim, but was not fast enough.

"Ro, Kakuna, Fury Attack!" Ivonar shouted.It was wrong to attack a Pokémon in the middle of evolution, but they couldn't let him get any stronger… they couldn't let Billy win.Not like this…

"Flameagle, Fire Cross!" Billy crowed.

There was a roar of flame as the Arcanine complied, her attack tearing through the Fury Attacks like tissue paper.Ro and The Kakuna fell with one attack."Return!" Ivonar told them quickly, getting them back in their pokéballs.

This wasn't good at all….

"Agility!" Billy ordered, a look of eerie glee on his face."Bite.Everything."With a blur, the giant Arcanine vanished.

Chia.Manx.Fairie.Drake.Poe.Ratzy.Q.Char.Saurus.Each went down with a startled cry.And stayed down.

Nuisance barely managed to hold off the Arcanine with Disable long enough to get out of the way.

"Nuisance!" Ivonar shouted."Psychic Toss, _now_!"

Nuisance started to turn, to face Flameagle, but he wasn't fast enough: with a single Take Down he was sent crashing into Scythe.The Scyther threw him aside like a weighted sack.Nuisance groaned weakly, but didn't move.

"No…" Ivonar breathed.Nuisance was their strongest Pokémon.Without him…

Billy had won.

No!He _couldn't_!

"The battle is mine," Billy said, looking at them with frank disdain.Manx and Maven both pulled themselves wobblingly to their feet.

"No," Ivonar told him flatly.

"Your Pokémon are unfit to battle.You were surprisingly worthy."He made it sound like a compliment."Now I chose what I want."

"Forget it," Remmy snapped."We're not done yet."Chia dragged herself painfully to her feet, only staying there by holding herself against a tree.Poe tried to stand, but fell back down."Pi!"He threw his remaining pokéball into the air: it popped open, releasing the Pidgey.

Billy laughed loudly, an eerily high sound."A Pidgey?" he snickered."Against an Arcanine?"

"We still have Pokémon left," Remmy replied coldly."You haven't won yet."

"Come on, Nuisance," Ivonar whispered."Wake up, please…"Nuisance opened his eyes, looking at her blearily.

"You two annoy me," Billy said, eyes narrowing."I've won by the rules we set.I get my choice of Pokémon."

"We aren't done!" Ivonar snapped.

"Oh, shut up," Billy retorted.Ivonar yelped in surprise as Flameagle cuffed her.

"Hey!" Remmy snapped.Manx snarled.

"Face it: I've won," Billy stated flatly.

"You're not getting our Pokémon," Ivonar told him, sitting up.Her shoulder ached horribly where Flameagle had smacked her, but she refused to let it show.

"You are especially annoying," Billy told her."Thinking you're worthy of my time."

"You're insane, if you think you're a Pokémon trainer," she replied.

Billy scowled."It isn't very mature, to think that different training styles are automatically wrong."

Ivonar laughed.Billy's eyes narrowed further."You're not the person to tell me I'm wrong," she told him.

"No?Flameagle?"

"Stop it!" Remmy shouted, as the Arcanine knocked Ivonar aside."You can't use Pokémon attacks on people!"

"Why not?" Billy sneered."True Pokémon trainers have to be ready to face what their Pokémon do, or they'll never have their respect."

Ivonar laughed, startling both of them.She dragged herself to her feet, wiping at a cut by her eye."You're not the person to be telling us about respect," she said.

"Flameagle."

"Pi, Sand-Attack!" Remmy snapped, but it was useless: Flameagle ran through it like it wasn't there.Ivonar was sent skidding.Nuisance let out a weak whine: Manx snarled, leaping for the Arcanine, but the bigger Pokémon simply batted him aside.

"You…" Ivonar groaned, pulling herself to one hand and both knees."…aren't… going… to… win."Her head swam: her left arm screamed in agony, as she suddenly had a second elbow in her upper arm and her wrist was bent at an unnatural angle.Broken.The rest of her ached dully, as if the pain weren't really real.

"I already have," Billy replied simply.

"No.You haven't."

"Denying it is useless."

"I'm not denying it.I'm telling you."

"_Chu_!"Chia threw a Thundershock at Scythe: the Scyther, caught off guard, slumped into unconsciousness, even as the Raichu slid off her feet, exhausted.

"I don't have time for you."Billy looked at Flameagle."Ember the Pidgey."

"Pi, return!"Remmy snapped, but he was too slow: when Pi returned, he did so blackened.He grimaced darkly.

"Happy now?" Billy sneered."You really _are_ out of Pokémon."

"You aren't going to win," Ivonar told him simply, cradling her arm.

"I always win," Billy told her frankly."With Flameagle, I never lose."The Arcanine slammed Ivonar aside; she cried out in pain."Isn't that right, Maven?"The blackened Persian, barely able to stand, still dizzy and aching from the metal club in her skull, mewed weakly.

Ivonar opened her eyes.Her entire body throbbed.Her left arm screamed in pain.Her legs were completely numb: she couldn't feel them at all.Still, she pushed herself weakly to her knees with her right hand.She looked about the clearing.

All her and Remmy's Pokémon, fallen and bleeding.Poe fighting to stand, but not succeeding.Nuisance was conscious, but barely, not two feet away.Manx was dragging himself back to his feet.Numbly, she watched as he limped over to her; gently, he rubbed his forehead against hers.She put her working hand on his shoulder, forcing herself to her feet, even though she couldn't feel them.She leaned heavily to her right: she felt like she would fall any moment.

But Billy was right about one thing.

Pokémon trainers had to be willing to do what their Pokémon did.

"We're not done yet," she said flatly."We can still fight."

Billy looked at her dully, not in the least impressed."You have ceased to amuse me," he said, sounding bored."Flameagle… Fire Cross."

The Arcanine turned to them, her flames roaring toward Manx, Nuisance, and Ivonar with perfect aim.

None of them stood a chance.

He sat alone under a bush.None of the other Pokémon had anything to do with him: he was too haughty, they said.Too self-centered.Arrogant.

Perhaps he had been arrogant, but not anymore.Not now.He knew better, now.Arrogance had gotten him captured: he would no longer be arrogant.He had learned his lesson, and was not going to repeat it.

Nor was he self-centered.He had more important things to focus on.

Things like revenge.

Like freedom.

Like making that wench and her pet pay for stealing his freedom from him.

Especially her pet.

He was well aware of their predicament: the bond between himself and the girl never waned.It was permanent, after all.She was not aware of it, not at this distance, but it was there.It was very much there.

He'd enjoyed the battle, for the most part, safe and sound as he was under a bush far, far away.He could not feel her pain, at this distance, but could appreciate what it was doing to her.He enjoyed seeing both get their due.

But the human had crossed the line.

*_You are mine to finish_,* he sneered to the one who had defeated him.*_No one else's_.*

Nuisance could barely keep his eyes open as he watched the Fire Cross bear down on them.He was a water Pokémon: technically, he had a partial strength against fire attacks.But this one, he knew, would kill him.And Manx.

And Ivonar.

And there was nothing… nothing… he could do.There wasn't time.

*_You are mine to finish_,* a voice said out of no where.He stiffened: it was a voice he had never wished to hear again.*_No one else's_.*

Three inches away, the flames already scalding his feathers, the Fire Cross slammed into a psychic shield, dissipating harmlessly.

"_What_?!" Billy roared.

The fool… the crazed, psychotic fool of an Abra…

He had his chance.

*_DRAKE_!* he roared mentally, shutting his eyes tightly.The Dratini jerked awake with a squeak.*_Poe…_*He fought to keep focused.They would have one chance… one, and only one.*_I need… your Water Guns.As powerful as you can manage.I need you to put everything you have into them – everything.Aim anywhere but at the Arcanine.*_

Drake looked at him, then at the Tauros.Poe pushed himself to his knees, eyes downcast wearily, then lifted them, staring at nothing.

Both collected what strength they had left, putting it into their attacks, and did as he said.

With what strength he himself had left, Nuisance used Confusion on them both.

Drake's Water Gun, reinforced with Nuisance's Confusion, slammed into the Tauros with a power of an Ice Punch, sending it slamming into the Arcanine.Poe's Water Gun, equally reinforced to act as a Hydro Pump, slammed into the Arcanine from the other side.

In all, the entire maneuver took six seconds.All five Pokémon went limp.

And now, all sides were equally out of Pokémon.

Billy stared blankly.

What had just happened?

The Psyduck could not have had the power necessary to erect a shield strong enough to make Flameagle's Fire Cross completely useless.It was simply impossible.And the water Pokémon couldn't possibly have had the energy left to use such powerful attacks… and Water Guns traveled in straight lines.They had had psychic powers aiming them.

The girl glared at him, still leaning on her Persian.Of the Pokémon there, only the Persians were still standing, but Maven was still reeling from the blow the Cubone creature had given her.She couldn't battle.

Stalemate.

"We win," the girl said hoarsely.

"I would call it a tie," he replied harshly.

The girl laughed weakly.Slowly, she shook her head."You lose," she said."You're out of Pokémon, aren't you?You only have the four."

"You're out of Pokémon as well."

Again, she slowly shook her head."We win," she disagreed."We still have Pokémon left."

Slowly, from the thicket, they came.

He'd forgotten about the Eevees.

The smallest one squealed, leaning against the girl's leg with two paws; the girl's leg buckled, and she fell to her knees.The one with the black tail tip and one with thick fur stepped forward, hissing menacingly.The last, the one with the spiky fur, soon joined them.The smallest did as well.

"We win," the girl said again, glaring at him defiantly.

He returned his Pokémon to their balls, and returned her glare.

"Stalemate," he corrected her.

Then turned, and ran.

Fluffball tried chasing the boy, but soon returned.Remmy returned the Pokémon, his and Ivonar's alike, to their pokéballs."Ivonar…"He didn't know what to say.Asking if she was all right would be like asking a starving person if they were hungry.She needed medical help immediately.

They were in the middle of no where.Vermillion City was still a week away.

Manx glared at him when he aimed his pokéball at him, but could not fight being returned.

"Ivonar…"Remmy grabbed her before she fell, unable to keep upright without Manx to support her.

"We win," she said weakly, head falling forward a bit."We win, Remmy, we win."He pulled her right arm around his shoulders: she winced, groaning.The Eevees pooled around their feet, mewling worriedly: Q was tucked under his other arm."We win."

There was no way.

He couldn't do it: he couldn't drag her for a week.

Remmy grimaced.Gently, he put Ivonar down.Going to their packs, he pulled her sleeping bag off hers.He unrolled it next to her, unzipping it fully, then helped her lay flat.

He grabbed two straight sticks, and the elastics to her sleeping bag and his own.One stick he bound tightly to her upper left arm: the other to the lower part, one end to her lower arm, the other to her hand.He wrapped both tightly in gauze from the first aid kit.She would only be able to move her elbow.

He rummaged through their packs, getting all the junk food and Pokémon food, everything that wasn't in cans and didn't need to be cooked.He put it in the bag by Ivonar's feet."Stay here," he told the Eevees firmly.They chirped at him."This'll hopefully be enough… you guys can find other things to eat if you run out."He closed the sleeping bag around Ivonar, zipping it up fully.

"Remmy, we win," Ivonar said dully, looking right through him.

He bound Q's bite wound with what gauze was left, then slid him gently in the sleeping bag with Ivonar.There was still a little room on the other side."Stay here," he told the Eevees again."Keep Eevee warm, okay?" he told them as he clipped all twelve pokéballs to his belt."And make sure she eats."

Would they understand?He hoped so.Pokémon were smarter than normal animals.

But these were little kids… these weren't full grown.Would they understand enough?

"Stay here," he told them one more time.

"We win," Ivonar replied vaguely.

"Yeah," he told her as he grabbed one of their full canteens, pulling it over his head."We're going to."He looked at her: she was deathly pale, her hair slick with sweat.Hopefully, warm in the sleeping bag, it would help stave off shock, but it'd only work for so long.

She wouldn't last a week.

With only a canteen and twelve pokéballs of exhausted, useless Pokémon, Remmy did the only thing he could.

He ran.


	12. Default Chapter

**_A Pallet Pair_**** #12:**

Home

He ran.

For the first time since he was little… he ran.

"Impossible," he muttered angrily."It could not have had the strength for that sort of shield.It's simply not possible."

"They still beat you."

He whirled, glaring toward the sneering voice."Who's there?" "Billy" Givani demanded.

The woman in black purred a chuckle.She looked a couple years older than he: her hair was long and deep purple, her eyes the color of tarnished gold.Her deathly pale skin contrasted sharply with her black uniform."They still beat you," she sneered again."With four baby Eevee, they _beat_ you."

"Two trainers, and seventeen Pokémon," he sneered in return."You have to admit, that's unusual odds for one person with four Pokémon to take on."

"You're a cocky fool," she snapped.He glared at her coldly."You should have known the odds before taking them."

"We can't always win by playing it safe, can we?Risks must be taken."

"Yes, they must."She smiled cruelly."How would you like to be a risk?"

"Might I ask what you mean by that?" he asked with a mockery of politeness.

"You may, but it doesn't mean I'll answer," she replied.She held a black gloved hand out to him."Besides, there are better people to explain what I have in mind for you."

He looked at the blood-red _R_ on her uniform, then at her once more."As long as it doesn't involve any corny mottos," he said, "perhaps I'll be willing to listen."

*

"Four trainers left from Pallet," Professor Oak said."The other two… sadly, were not cut out for it."

[ -- from some episode just before the Pokémon League Games ]

Ivonar lay on her back, staring at nothing.

She hurt.

Her left arm, from the shoulder to her fingers, was aching unbearably.

Sweetie chirped, crawling onto her stomach and peering at her nose to nose.Her ears were held out to the sides: she looked concerned.Gently she licked her nose, chirping again.

With her good arm, she rubbed the Eevee's head, then pushed her hair out of her eyes.She'd had to get it cut to get rid of the melted ends from the nearness of the Fire Cross, and the ripped strands from being Take Downed repeatedly.It'd grown out since, though: it almost reached her shoulders, now.

It had been months, since Billy, and the cast was still on her left arm.There had been a lot of damage.

She was home.

She'd never gotten to thank Remmy for making it to Vermillion City in four days: she had known he was fast, but she was still certain that was some kind of record.But she never had the chance to: she was deep in shock from her injuries and had gone immediately to surgery once they'd gotten her out of it.Her mother told her he was hospitalized for a day because he hadn't stopped to eat and had barely rested the entire trip.He'd been in bad shape, but he got better after a day in the hospital and a couple days rest.

She still hadn't seen him yet.She'd heard nothing.

He was probably coming home soon, though.The Pokémon League had started a couple days earlier.He had to easily have earned eight badges.Hopefully, she'd see his matches.So far he hadn't battled, though… she was waiting to see him.He'd do great, she knew.He had a gift.

She'd seen the others, though, before the League games began.Both, in their fashion, had come to see her.

Gary had been first.

"Hey, Old Lady," he'd greeted her, leaning in the doorway with that ridiculous smirk on his face.She had been lying on her back on the bed, cast resting across her chest, as she'd done for most of the time she wasn't lugging herself through school.

Kids who weren't Pokémon Trainers had to go to school, even with a severely busted arm.

"Hey," she'd replied weakly, scratching Sweetie between the ears.Fluffball and Cole had been wrestling noisily under her bed; Static was asleep on her desk chair.Nuisance had sat up from his place at the foot of the bed, regarding Gary curiously; Manx'd raised his head to give the boy a dull glare.Since she'd come home from the hospital, Manx had taken to sleeping next to her bed.She pretended it was normal, knowing any acknowledgement of it would annoy him.

"Gramps told me what happened," he'd said, looking around the room at the various Pokémon."That's too bad."

"Yeah, it is," she'd replied dully.

"Nice Eevees," he'd said.

"Thanks."

"You got three?"

"There's two under the bed."

"_Five_?"

So he'd seen Ten on his way in."Yeah, found four in an abandoned den and the other one was given to me.They're all pets, still, though.The youngers are still kinda young."

He'd rubbed Static's head; with a trill, the stiff-furred Eevee had looked up at him curiously."They look old enough to me," he'd pointed out."Almost full grown."

"I've trained them a little bit, after school," she'd said."Against each other.They're doing okay."

"Must be hard, with your arm busted."

"It's a little annoying."

"Tough break, Old Lady."

"Yeah, very tough," she'd replied bitterly.That was the worst choice of words she'd ever heard from him.

"It just goes to show… there's people who are made for Pokémon training, and there's those that just can't cut it."She'd turned her head to look at him.Static had growled at him; he'd crossed his arms, pretending not to notice.Manx had lowered his ears."I think you should have known better, Old Lady."

"What do you mean?" she'd asked, frowning.

"Oh, please, Ivonar," he'd sneered, shaking his head."Look at you!You started two years late.One year I can see, but _two_?No, no, no.It was obvious you were never going to make it."

She'd returned to staring at the ceiling."Yeah," she had said dully."Obvious."

"Listen, I've wasted enough time here, I gotta get some more training in for the Pokémon League.I got ten badges – that's more than enough, I think.How many did you get before getting knocked out?"

What business was it of his?"Two."

He'd laughed."Well, I gotta go.If you're up to it, I wouldn't mind seeing you at Indigo Plateau; you know who to root for!"

"Thanks for coming, Gary," she'd muttered.

"Catch ya later, Old Lady."

Ash's had gone a little better.It was over a week after Gary had come back, however; by that time, she nearly asked her mother to tell him to go away.

"Hi, Ivonar," he'd said slowly.

"Hey."

"Professor Oak said you had problems… what happened?"

"Accepted a fight I shouldn't have," she'd replied.

He'd made the mistake of trying to pick up Fluffball and pet her.She'd given him her tail in his face, making him sneeze and drop her, and marched to the bed, hopping up beside Nuisance.Static had trilled at him; gingerly, he'd tried to pat his head, and was rewarded with a purr.

"Bless you."

"Thanks."He'd looked around, like Gary had."Lots of Eevees…"He'd laughed weakly."Kind of appropriate, huh?"

She hadn't known he knew that nickname.Maybe her mother had used it when she let him in."I like to think so."

"So… are you going to start training again when your cast comes off?"

"Maybe," she'd replied, shrugging a little.She'd sat up with her shoulders slumped, letting her cast rest on her lap.Because of the three breaks – there was a long hairline fracture in her lower arm, too – they'd just put her entire arm in a cast, leaving only her fingers free.It itched horribly.By now, this was the fourth cast: they had to replace it every few weeks.They'd assured her that this would be the last one, though."I have to go through some physical therapy first, though.Get to finish out the school year.Again."

"Oh…"He'd taken off his hat, fidgeting with it.They'd never known each other very well.Static had sniffed at his hat curiously."I'm real sorry about what happened."

"It's okay.Not your fault.You in the Pokémon League?"

"Yup, got eight badges!" he'd replied proudly.

"Good luck."She'd smiled weakly."You're gonna need it against Remmy.He's good."

An odd look had crossed Ash's face.There was a long silence."Um… I have to go," he'd said finally.

"Yeah, better get some extra training in before the League."

"Yeah."

"Good luck.Smear Gary for me, okay?"

"Thanks."He'd smiled a bit."I will."

"Thanks."

"Well… see ya."

Maybe Remmy would be battling today.

If the other two could make it into the Pokémon League, he'd make it with no problem at all.

She lugged herself out of bed.

The Pokémon League matches of the day would be starting soon.Both Ash and Gary were supposed to have a match today.She still hadn't heard anything about Remmy, though.Maybe he'd have a match today, too.There was supposed to be a League Party for them at the Bailey's house… but she didn't feel like going.She'd already told everyone she didn't want to go.That's where her mother and Toby would be, though.

She spent the matches munching microwave popcorn (until Static and Fluffball accidentally knocked it off the table, then the Eevees, Q, and Nuisance were the only ones to get popcorn) and letting Ten sleep in her lap.Gary and Ash both won their matches.

Remmy didn't have one again.

It didn't bother her.She made sure there wasn't any popcorn still on the floor, left Ten in the armchair, and went into the kitchen to rinse the bowl.

Maybe tomorrow, then.

That's what she said right until the end of the Pokémon League games, and never once saw Remmy.

She didn't feel like going to the party for Ash.He'd placed in the top sixteen: not bad.Better than Gary'd done.It made her feel a little guilty to feel good about that… but not _that_ guilty.

Too bad she couldn't trade Gary something for Con.They deserved each other.

But she was pretty sure it didn't work that way for psychic Pokémon.

Oh, well.

There was a knock on her door."Yeah?" she called, expecting it to be her mother.Her dad was still at work; her brother never knocked unless he wanted a favor, and he'd been good about not asking those because of her cast.She assumed it reminded him that he was responsible for her last one.

"Hello, Ivy – may I come in?"

Startled, she looked toward the door."Sure… sure, Professor."

He smiled kindly, gently picking Cole off the desk chair and sitting down on it.He let Cole sit on the desk instead."It's been awhile… I came over to thank you for lending me your Cunone… I think I've learned all I can without it being trained further.Fascinating creature.I also thought I would see how you were doing."

"I'm all right."She sat up, letting her cast rest in her lap."I feel bad about not training my Pokémon… I've done a little training for the Eevees, not much though… I was thinking about trying to find good homes for the others.Though I think instead of doing that, I'd give them to Remmy… I know he'll take good care of them, and they all know him and will listen to him."

"So… you have decided not to return to training?" Oak asked, his tone neither accepting nor disapproving.He was simply asking a question.

Ivonar shook her head."I don't know."She looked at her cast tiredly."You told the others what happened."She didn't mean to sound accusing, but she did, didn't she?

"Not entirely," the professor assured her gently."I did tell Gary that you were attacked by a misguided trainer.Ash… I didn't tell him very much at all.Gary must have told him what I had told Gary."

"Oh."She looked up at him."What happened to Remmy?" she asked."I thought he was going to run away with the Pokémon League, but he wasn't there."

"Actually, Remmy has been in Cerulean with his cousins, helping at their Gym," he replied."Since he told his parents he didn't want to train Pokémon, they decided it would be better for him to go to a private school there."

"He what?"She stared at him."Why would he say that?He's great at it!Heck, he _beat_ them, they _know_ he's good!He _got_ the Cascade Badge!"Professor Oak looked a little surprised at her outburst."Professor, Remmy has a real talent," she said earnestly."His cousins at Cerulean _know_ he's good.Pokémon really like him, too – he's got a Dratini, and a Clefairy, he _has_ to be good!When did he stop?"

"He went to Cerulean right after you came out of the hospital," he replied, still seeming a little startled."He wanted to know you were okay before he went."

"You mean… he didn't train at _all_?"

"Well, he has done some training with the Pokémon he caught while he was with you… raising their levels, making a couple evolve… but otherwise, no, not that I know of."

"He didn't get any more badges?He just… stopped?"

"Well, Misty – a friend of Ash's, and Remmy is a cousin of hers, it seems! – did call home from my laboratory a couple days ago… she did speak with him briefly.Apparently he does a little work around her sister's gym to earn a little money after school, but otherwise… that's really it, I think."

"That's… that's… no, that's… that's stupid."The professor raised an eyebrow at her."It is!" she insisted."You don't understand, Professor… Remmy has a real gift with Pokémon.It's wasted, if he's just… just cleaning pools, or something!He should be a Pokémon master, or a gym leader, or a breeder, or… or something!"

"Ivonar…"Professor Oak looked at her kindly, but sadly."Everyone has many talents, and it's up to them to decide which they hone… which they want and don't want.Remmy's done quite well on his school's track team, did you know that?I hear he beat someone's Rattata's Quick Attack."

"No," she said."I haven't heard anything from Remmy.And I never got to thank him, either."

"That… does seem rather odd."

"No…"Ivonar's shoulders slumped."No, it makes sense."She stood up, slipping the heavy cast into the sling she only took off to sleep.She could take another dose of painkiller now, and she was going to: was this what Nuisance put up in his head day after day?His migraine probably didn't _itch_, though…

"Ivy…?"

"He doesn't want to train Pokémon.He told me that in the very beginning: he doesn't like it.He doesn't like making them battle.It's no more than fighting."She scratched half-heartedly at her cast, knowing it wouldn't do any good."But Pokémon is all he and I had in common.Without it, there's nothing to talk about."She headed for the bathroom, where her pills were in the medicine cabinet."It's better this way."

*

"The rules are simple.Three Pokémon each.No time limit.Agreed?"

"Agreed!" the boy replied, grinning challengingly.He threw out a pokéball."Go, Raticate!"With a flare of red light and a chatter of sharp incisors, the heavy Pokémon appeared on one of the floats.

He fingered the pokéballs in his pockets thoughtfully.He pulled out all four, not really knowing which was which."I choose Marril."One of the balls in his right hand popped open, releasing her.

"Rampage, Hyper Fang!" the competitor ordered immediately.

"Mollie, in the water," he snapped.The Raticate bit empty air."Surface and Water Gun!" he shouted, to be heard beneath the surface.

"Quick Attack!"The Raticate's second attack was met with a forceful stream of water, holding it back."Come on, Rampage!" the other shouted."You can do it!"

"Mollie, down!" he ordered.The Marril disappeared under the surface again.

"Focus Energy, Rampage!Be ready when it comes back!"

He'd been waiting for just that order."Mollie, Bubble Beam and Body Slam!"While the Raticate was attempting to focus its energy, the Marril attacked, setting it off-balance with the first attack, then sending it splashing into the water with the second.

"No!Rampage!"The other trainer stared down into the water."Rampage, where are you!Come back up!"

A couple moments later, the knocked-out Raticate surfaced with a little help."Thank you, Dewgong," he said with a faint smile."Choose your next Pokémon," he said, addressing the other trainer.

The other scowled, returning the Raticate to its ball, then plucking another from his belt."I choose Horsea!"

"Mollie, return.Good job."He stuck her pokéball back in his pocket."I choose Dratini."

"_What_?"The other trainer stared in awe: he was used to it, by now.Fairly, he waited for him to get over his astonishment."You have a _Dratini_?"

"Drake, into the water," he said simply.The other had probably been intent on using his Horsea's Dragon characteristics to his advantage.

An advantage he didn't have.

Now it was all about speed, power, level, and training.

There was no type advantage.

"Horsea, Smokescreen!" the other trainer ordered.

"Drake, Whirlpool."

"Agility!"A move wasted: the Horsea was already caught.

"Slam."

"Growl!Keep your Agility up!"

Time for Drake's newest attack."Drake, Dragon Rage!" he ordered.

"No!" the other yelped, but it was too late: Drake's aim was true, and the Horsea was belly-up."Good job, Rockette… you tried your best."The Horsea was returned.The other trainer scowled, then lowered his eyes."Don't make me regret this," he murmured, pulling a sixth pokéball from his pocket.There were only five on his belt."I choose Magnemite!" he cried, tossing the ball in the air.

Electric type.

"Drake, out of the water," he told the Dratini.With a chirp and a trill, it obeyed."Time to show off your Agility, Drake."It rubbed its glistening snout against his leg, then shook off, trying to get as much water off its body as possible.

"Magnum, go!Thunder!"

Drake made a sound almost like a squawk, leaping off the float as soon as the other trainer had spoken the order.Its trainer, too, jumped to another float, in case the powerful attack landed, but the Magnemite hesitated enough for the pair to put distance between each other.It hummed faintly as it collected the energy, then released it precisely.

"Drake, Agility!Keep out of the water!Dragon Rage at the first opportunity!"He flinched as his orders were wasted, and the attack landed.Drake fell limply back into the water."Drake!"Nothing."Drake!"He sighed softly."Drake, return."

Nothing.

"Drake?"

"Magnum, Thundershock the wa-"

"Don't!" he snapped.The other trainer looked at him, startled."You shock that water you shock us, too.Believe me, we get tons of electric Pokémon here: you get shocked.It isn't fun.Use a different attack."

"But Magnum only knows electric attacks," the other told him.

"Not even something simple, like Tackle?"

"Nope."

"Well, your choice then.Thundershock us if you think it'll help.Drake!"He crouched on the edge of his float."Drake, I know you're still conscious, come back here!You're recalled!"

Nothing.

"I think it's sulking," he said dryly."Mollie."The Marril popped out of her ball again.

"Magnum, Thunderwave!"

"Mollie, dive, then Mega Punch!"

The Marril dove under the surface, avoiding the attack.

"Magnum, float high, keep out of the Marril's reach!"The Magnemite drifted higher above its trainer's head.

"Mollie!"For no apparent reason, he grinned."Mega Punch, when you're ready."

"Be ready, Magnum!"

The trainer and the Magnemite waited.

And waited.

Frowning, the other trainer regarded him: he just shrugged."She's not ready.Might be trying to help Drake a little."

"Use another Pokémon," the other suggested."You still have one more."

He shook his head."I'd rather not."

"She's not fighting!"

He grinned."No time limit," he reminded the other boy."She's fighting.She's just waiting for her opening."

The competitor frowned, crouching down to look into the water."Where is she?"

As if in reply, there was a sudden explosion of water, as the Marril leaped out, landing precisely on the trainer's head.With a yelp, the trainer stumbled to his feet; the Marril twisted, leaping again, and Mega Punched the Magnemite with all her strength, sending it skipping twice over the water before it sank like a rock.

"Marril!" she cheered, landing back in the water in front of the other trainer's float.

"You see?" he asked, smiling faintly.

"Wow…"The other trainer sighed heavily."Magnum, return."A red beam of light was the only sign that the Magnemite complied."No wonder you're a gym leader."

He decided not to say anything about that."You're good," he replied."Get your levels up a little more, you'll have no problem next time."

The other nodded."Okay.Thanks.Until next time, then!"He grinned in reply as the other hopped off their float and left the gym.

With a sad trill, Drake pulled itself onto the float."It's okay, Drake."He rubbed its head affectionately; it chirped sadly."You did great.It got you because you were still wet.At least you're okay, right?"Drake trilled happily, coiling itself up his legs to anchor itself about his waist.He grinned at it, then hopped off the float into the water, letting Drake act like a water ring, keeping him afloat.Mollie snickered at the two of them, bobbing over on the water's surface.She squeaked as Dewgong came up suddenly underneath her, tossing her in the air like a beach ball."Dewgong!" he laughed."You know Mollie doesn't like when you do that!"Dewgong replied by barking at him, and catching Mollie on his nose and balancing her there while she kicked futilely."Keeping her humble?" he joked.Dewgong barked again, nosing Mollie into the air a couple more times before finally letting her down on the float.She smacked Dewgong's nose, making it whimper, but pouted, not giving in.

"Joey!We're back!"

He looked toward the voice, rubbing Drake's head distractedly.

"That show was like, _so_ cool," Violet was saying.

"Yeah, but, you know, he's so much more… I don't know, dreamier in photos than in person, you know?" Daisy replied."I guess they use special lights and stuff."

"I hope things were quiet, Joey," Lily continued, apparently ignoring her sisters."I mean, it's not fair leaving you in charge and stuff."

"I don't mind," he told her, giving Drake's head a pat.Understanding, the Dratini let him go, allowing him to swim over to the side."Only two battles today.The first was easy, but I think Drake's spending the night at the Pokécenter."Drake gave him a dirty look."It took a pretty big shock while it was still wet."

"Did you need Dewgong?"

"No, or the Grouches, either.Just Drake and Mollie."

"Wow!"Daisy laughed."If you were in charge of the gym, Joey, we'd, like, never give away any badges!"Violet laughed.

"Lots of trainers who come here are just starting out," he replied."My Pokémon are too strong for them, that's all."

"You are _way_ too modest, Joey," Violet scolded him."Seriously, you are so good at this."

He shrugged a little.

"How's your little friend doing?" Daisy asked.

"Who?"According to his cousins, all his friends were little.They called _him_ little, too, so it stood to their somewhat skewered reasoning.

"Y'know, the girl you came here with, when you were, like, training."Lily looked at Daisy as she said it; they both giggled.

"Eevee?She was okay, last I heard."

"You haven't been keeping in touch?" Violet asked, frowning a little.He shrugged a little."Wow.You two seemed like such good friends and all… what happened?"

"Nothing."He never went into what happened with them.They'd fuss over it.His parents had understood: they wouldn't.He didn't tell any of his friends at his new school, either: they wouldn't believe him.

Nobody seemed to believe him when he said he didn't want to train anymore.

The trio shared knowing, worried looks."You two didn't, like, have a fight?Or something?" Lily asked.

"No."Not with each other, anyway.

"You never did say why you stopped training," Daisy pointed out.

"I didn't want to start to begin with," he replied, giving Drake's head a pat."Eevee had to go home, so I convinced Mom and Dad not to make me go out again."

"Joey, I just don't _get_ you!" Violet cried, leaning down to be more on his eyelevel.Why did she look so worried?Was it really that bad that he didn't want to make Pokémon his whole life?"You have a real talent!"

"I have other talents."He let his hand rest on Drake's head.He rarely put Drake back in its pokéball anymore, now that it had the whole gym at its disposal.

Had some close calls with it trying to follow him to school… but it had learned not to do that anymore.

"We know… we know."Violet ruffled his hair."We're gonna be closing the pool tomorrow afternoon, and you are _not_ to watch it for us, you hear?"

"I can't.There's a track meet."

She grinned, pinching his cheek."And y'know who we're rooting for, doncha?"

As always, the day seemed to drag.Like the rest of the team, he wore his track shirt with jeans; people he didn't know came to him at lunch and slapped him on the shoulder, or wished him luck.

He was pretty well known for a new kid.He wouldn't have considered that a good thing, but as usual, he seemed to be the exception.

He was getting used to being the exception.

As time for final bell started to approach, he stopped focusing on his work and focused more on the meet.When he first started, he was one of the better sprinters, but a slight change in mindset had instantly made him one of the best.

He stopped doing it at practices, though.He saved it for meets.

"Winning is all about incentive," his coach had preached."You have to want to win.At that finish line is what you most want, what you most dream of.The most important part of your life is waiting there at that finish line.When you know that, when you cross that finish line, you have what it is that is most important to you, then you will win.Maybe it is winning: maybe it's a chance at a good high school.Maybe it's whatever great game system is out, or a date with that pretty girl or cute guy in math class.Whatever it is… it's there."The coach had pointed at the finish line."It's right there waiting for you.You get there first, it's yours."

So Remmy had played along.He tried to think of what he wanted at the finish line.

Instead, all he could remember was a far different finish line… all that came to mind was the mindless dash to Vermillion City.Four days of focusing only on one thing: the finish line.

In his mind's eye, he remembered Ivonar lying broken in the woods.At the finish line, he pictured Vermillion.

He won the first sprint by over three seconds.

And had yet to lose since.

As he headed out, more people wished him luck.Kesia, one of his better friends (he hadn't found a best friend yet), waved at him just as he was headed into the gym to get his gear; she was already prepared.Kesia was one of the tallest girls in his class, with golden brown hair and somewhat startling green eyes; most of her height was in her legs, and her hair was nearly as long as they were.She did the hurdles and the long jump, though she also tried javelins at practice.(She had a good arm, but terrible aim.)"See ya outside, Remmy!" she yelled.

He waved to show he'd heard, then hurried into the locker room.Once changed, he jogged outside, where most of the team was already warming up.He was just in time to see the competition's buses pull into the traffic circle; kids started pouring out.

"If it isn't the wingless Pidgeot!" Vince kidded him.Vince's own nickname was "Pidge" because his mother ran a Carrier Pidgey business.He was another kid from Remmy's circle; they both ran the sprints, Vince usually right on Remmy's heels.Remmy was pretty sure he and Vince wouldn't have gotten along too well, though, if he'd started out by beating him, instead of working up to it: he had a strong competitive streak."You'd think you'd be out first more often."

"I don't want to clue anybody in," he replied.Vince laughed."How's Pi doing?"

"Just as much better today than yesterday than he was yesterday than the day before.He's a fast little guy.Still hasn't evolved, though he's powerful enough to.I think he's holding off.He's gonna make one heck of a Pidgeot, though, if he's this fast and still a Pidgey.How's Drake?"

"Pretty good.Had to cover for my cousins yesterday, between it and Mollie I didn't give away two badges."He always tried to keep any mention of his occasional extra work to a minimum: when he said he didn't want to train, he meant it.

Really.

"And Squirt?"

Squirt was Vince's older brother's Wartortle.They'd traded temporarily because Vince was better at raising birds, and Remmy had a whole water Pokémon gym in which to help train Squirt while Vince's brother was home for a few weeks."She's doing really good.Won't listen to me half the time, though.And I don't think she likes Saurus."

"Eh, she's like that to any Pokémon who's got an advantage over her… grass, electricity."Vince shrugged helplessly."She's just gotta get used to you, I think."

"It's not that.I think she just doesn't like me any more than she does Saurus."

Vince's reply was cut short by the coach's whistle.The team lined up for stretches, doing their best to drown out the other school's counting with their own.When both sides were stretched, the meet began.

It started with the short distance sprint: Remmy rooted for Vince, who came in third to two of the kids on the other team.He wasn't in the shortest distance, because the coach didn't want him tired for the mid-distance and the long-distance.

Four events later, it was his turn on the starting line: the mid-distance sprint.

"Runners, take your mark!"

Three hundred yards… three hundred yards to Vermillion.Just three hundred yards to a hospital and doctors and medicine and ….

The starting gun fired the blank.A few seconds later, he came in four strides ahead of the kid who'd gotten first in Vince's race.

"All right, Pidgeot!" Vince crowed, slapping his shoulder with one hand and forcing a bottle of water into Remmy's hand with the other."What's the record now, how many in a row?"

"Haven't counted."Remmy sat heavily on the bench, taking a mouthful of water."How long 'til Kesia's race?"

"They're still setting up the hurdles, we still got time."Remmy nodded."Gotta like the other team's rooting section."Remmy rolled his eyes: there was no one who thought Vince was handsome more than Vince did, no matter what Vince thought girls were thinking."Why do all the other schools get the good girls?I mean, come on, why'd we get stuck with the dreg- OW!Hey!"

Remmy grinned."Good luck, Kes."

Vince rubbed the back of his head."Yeah, break a leg, beanpole," he muttered good-naturedly.Kesia raised her hand again; Vince pretended to cower.She gave him a noogie instead."Hey, ow!Ow!Not the _hair_, I _need_ that!"

"My dad could use it a lot more than you could," Kesia kidded him."Maybe he can borrow a little."

"Yeah, if I ever grow it long, he'll have first dibs when I get it chopped.'Til then, leave it alone, okay?"

"Whatever, Romeo."Kesia ruffled his hair, doing the same to Remmy's as she walked past him toward an open space where she could stretch some more."Nice race, Remmy."

"Thanks."

"Good luck on the next race."

"You too."

"Lessee… brunette, blonde, blonde, blue-hair, green-hair, plum-hair, plum-hair, blonde… brunette with a Pokémon, there's my type!"Vince laughed; Remmy rolled his eyes."Never saw that one before.What's it got on its head, a pot?"Vince laughed again."Must be a doll."

Remmy looked at Vince.

Then he looked at the stands where Vince was looking.

It took a moment or two, but he found the row where Vince had been counting off the girls.Three seats from the middle aisle of the fourth row from the top of the bleachers sat a brown-haired girl with a cast on her left arm and a clay-colored Pokémon sitting in her lap.

"Eevee?"

"Your eyes going, Rem?That doesn't look anything like-"

"No, the girl, her nickname's Eevee."What was Ivonar doing there?If it weren't for the unmistakable Q, he could have overlooked her completely… she looked older than she used to, and her hair was different: instead of going just past her shoulders, it didn't quite reach them, and had gotten a wave from somewhere when it used to be almost stick straight.

"You know her, and if so, how well?"

"We're friends… she's twe- uh, thirteen now, I think."

"Cute."Remmy shrugged a bit."So, can I meet her after the meet's done?"

"Sure, I guess, if she's still around."What was she doing there?And with Q, of all the Pokémon?

When Ivonar had gone to the hospital, Q had been put in a pokéball and taken immediately to the Vermillion Pokécenter.It came out a few days later, as good as new but utterly refusing to stay in the pokéball: Remmy didn't force it to.When he explained to his parents that he didn't want to train anymore, and it was agreed that he would go to school in Cerulean City and stay with his cousins, he'd brought Q to Professor Oak, who'd asked to study it for awhile, and asked him to return it to Ivonar when he was done with it.He was pretty sure that Q didn't want to spend its time at a water gym if it was so afraid of water.

"Vince!Joey!Get stretching!" the coach told them.Vince clapped him on the shoulder; Remmy got up to stretch.

When it was their turn at the starting line, Remmy glanced at the stands.Ivonar was shouting, but her voice was lost in the cheers and catcalls of the other spectators and the team members.Q waved its bar at him as it jumped up and down on the seat beside her: he grinned at his unique little cheerleader.Then he looked forward, and concentrated.

Vermillion…

"Runners, take your mark!"_Bang_!

The noise, the other runners, the entirety of the field… none of it mattered as he ran.All that mattered was running, staying on course, getting to the end.

He finished the first lap by a quarter lap.That wasn't unusual: he started as fast as he could, while the others held some in reserve for the final lap.He'd had some close finishes: the first lap meant nothing.One kid was almost at his heels for the second lap, but fell back again; the third lap was his by a few yards.

One more lap to Vermillion… just one more… almost there…Though he'd been giving it everything he had, somewhere he found something more.Everything was a distant hum, a blur without detail.Almost there…

He won four strides ahead of the kid who'd almost caught up on the second lap, with Vince close behind.He took a quarter lap to slow down, then walked back to the bench, with the same drained, heavy feeling he always did when the race was over, when he got to "Vermillion", and it'd all just been a trick to get himself to go as hard as he could.

He looked up at the bleachers just in time to see Ivonar grab Q by the tail as the madly dancing Cunone nearly celebrated itself off its seat.It shook its bar at him, its cheers lost with those of everyone else, but he grinned just the same.

"Awesome, Rem!" Kesia cried, throwing an arm around his shoulders and giving him a squeeze, even though he was several inches shorter than she was and doing so was kind of awkward for her."You have to have beat your old record!That was great!"

"I don't try to win anymore," Vince said, shaking his head as he grabbed a water bottle from the many set aside for the team."I just try to keep up!"He slapped Remmy on the shoulder as he took a long swig of water."Rotten jerk!" he laughed.Remmy chuckled as he fell onto the bench.

Cerulean City beat Pallet Town, but to Remmy that wasn't all that important.He got to see a lot of people from his old school, though not many of his friends; he hadn't been part of the sports crowd then.He felt a little homesick as he said hi to some of the faces he recognized who he thought might remember him.

"Haven't forgot, have you?"Where'd Vince come from?Remmy hadn't seen him for almost twenty minutes.The other team was getting ready to leave: quickly Remmy looked around."Uh… I don't see her."

"She's behind you, oh bright one, she's still on the bleachers.Come on!"

Vince hurried up the first few steps two at a time, then saw that Remmy was lagging and waited impatiently for him to catch up."Hey, Eevee."

"Hi, Remmy."

"_Cu_-no!" Q scrambled over Ivonar's lap, jumping into Remmy's arms and almost bashing his chin with the pot.

"Q missed you.It's been moping."

"What is that?" Vince asked.

"A Cunone," Ivonar replied.

"Yeah, some guy gave it to us, it's pretty cool," Remmy added.

"'Us'?As in, the two of you?_Both_ of you?"

Ivonar and Remmy traded a look."Uh… yeah," Ivonar admitted."It's not really mine or Remmy's… neither of us caught it.It just sort of hung with us."

"Where'd you get it?I mean, who gave it to you?"Suddenly Vince seemed a lot more interested in Q than Ivonar."Can I get one?How do you catch one?"

Ivonar laughed a little."It's a resurrected Pokémon: I don't think you're going to find any in the wild.Q's kind of one of a kind."

"I like it… but why's it wear a pot on its head?"

"It's an ancestor of Cubone… instead of a skull it likes the pot," Remmy explained.

"Oh…kay…"Vince shook his head slightly, deciding not to go any further into that.

"Rem, can I talk to you for a minute?"Ivonar sat up straighter, so her cast didn't rest in her lap.She pushed some of her hair away from her face.

"Sure, I guess."

Vince looked at the two, then shrugged slightly."Well, see ya."He trotted down the stairs to the field."Hey, beanpole, wait up!"

Remmy sat down beside Ivonar; its initial enthusiasm waning, Q squirmed in between them and sat down, the bar resting across its knees."Yeah?"

"I wanted to thank you."

"You don't have to."Remmy rubbed Q's head between its eye ridges."You would've done the same for me."

"I expected to see you at the Pokémon League games.Ash and Gary made it, I figured you'd have no problem."

"I didn't want to."

Ivonar nodded slightly."Professor Oak said you made a few of your Pokémon evolve?"

"Yeah… the Ouches are now the Grouches."

"Your Magikarp?"

"Yup… put them against each other, my cousins helped out with their Pokémon, got them a ton of experience all at once.Ouch-One's now Grouch and Ouch-Three's now Grouchy.Grouchy's a bit of a handful, but Grouch's more roar than bite."

"How've things been?"

"Not bad… working at the Gym's not so bad, I get some pocket money… my cousin's might be airheads sometimes but they're really nice, living with them isn't so bad."

Ivonar looked at him oddly."So things generally aren't that bad, huh?"

"I guess."

"Just not bad?You don't make it sound too great, either."

Remmy took a deep breath, letting it out slowly."Things are okay here," he began."I miss being home, kind of, here there's so little to do it gets boring.The best times are when I'm with Drake and my cousins are out and they ask me to watch the Gym, but the trainers that come are usually ones just starting out and I feel bad beating them because I know it isn't fair, my Pokémon are stronger, even though I have to use just Drake, Mollie, the Grouches, and if I need to my cousin's Dewgong, since it's a water Pokémon gym.School is okay, but the classes are boring.I like track, and I'm pretty good…"Ivonar remained silent, waiting."But… it's…"He frowned, then slowly shook his head."Running in circles just seems so pointless sometimes.I already ran my race… these ones just aren't the same."He looked over the field dully: what had seemed like some of his best times in Cerulean now just seemed empty wastes of time.

He was good at running.He had a talent.

But… the fact was… he didn't like to do it.

"The Eevees are old enough to start training now," Ivonar said."I was considering giving the other Pokémon… Char, Poe, Ro, The Kakuna… away, to people who'd train them.I don't know if I want to go back to Pokémon training when my cast comes off and I can use my arm again.After that fight… I don't know what I want to do.Everything just seems so pointless… I don't know what to do.I just don't anymore."

"Neither do I."The words were out of his mouth without him thinking about them, but they were the truth.

"I've always wanted to be a Pokémon master," Ivonar said quietly."Always.I knew I would sometimes have to lose.I hate losing but it has to happen sometimes.When we were training, I was always losing to you, did you notice that?Always.You were better than me at catching them, at battling, at finding them.You were better.Nothing I could do would make me as good as you."

"Luck.It was just luck, that's all."

"It doesn't matter what it was.What really mattered was… Remmy, I never cared.I mean, yeah, I was jealous sometimes… it'd be hard not to be… but it was never that important.And you know, I don't think I would have gotten as far as I did without you.I would've probably given up in Pewter City."

"Don't say that."

"It's true.If you hadn't been there, either Brock probably would've beaten me because Poe hadn't evolved yet or I wouldn't have won any better than I did.It took me two years to start training Pokémon… two of the longest years in my life.You know, maybe Gary was right… maybe I should've known better."

"Since when did you listen to Gary?"

"Everyone who really wants to starts training Pokémon when they're ten.I didn't.I started late.And look what happened when I did.What was I thinking?Gary was right, I was stupid.I should have realized a long time ago that it'd never work, that I was being an idiot.Manx never liked me and I never taught Nuisance any attacks.If I had I would have known he already knew some, that he was so strong, and wouldn't have gotten my Boulder Badge like that.Gary was right.I'm stupid."

"You're only stupid if you think Gary knows anything, Eevee.How can you possibly believe that?If you weren't cut out for Pokémon training, you never would have survived getting The Kakuna.Do you think The Kakuna would let anyone else train it?What about Ro?Your Pokémon listen to you because they respect you.You probably have one of the strongest Psyducks alive who would do absolutely anything for you.So you started late – accidents happen.But you stuck to it.You were doing great."

"Remmy, I don't know if I can do it anymore," Ivonar disagreed.She looked almost as if she were about to cry."I knew losing would be part of training, it's part of anything when you first start something.When you do anything, you have to want to win, but be willing to lose.But I didn't realize how much I could lose, Rem… I didn't know… I don't want it to happen again, Remmy."She looked brokenly at her cast."I almost died."

"You didn't."

"Thanks to you.If you hadn't been there…"

"If I hadn't been there it never would have come to that, Eevee.We barely beat that guy together: alone you wouldn't have stood a chance.Right now Manx or Nuisance or the Eevees would be with that guy.But we beat him."

"I'm scared, Remmy."Ivonar stared at the cast; the tears that had been threatening to fall began to."I want to train them but I don't want to die."

"That guy was nuts, Ivonar.It's not like there's a whole world of guys like him out there.There isn't.People like him get what's coming to them."

"Was this what was coming to me?"

"Eevee, it's not your fault, not any of it."

"I should have known better.Gary was right: I should've known."

"It _isn't_ your fault!"

"I shouldn't have been so stupid!"Ivonar banged her cast against the bleachers in frustration, wincing as she did so.

"Ivonar, don't do that!"

"Yeah, that was stupid," she muttered, resting it back in her lap.Knowing her luck, she'd broken something again and have to get another cast.Should have known better…

"That was your fault.What Billy did wasn't, Ivonar.It was his fault.He's got some screwed-up ideas about Pokémon."

"I knew that if I wanted to be a Pokémon master, I was going to have to lose sometimes," Ivonar said quietly."I never realized how much I could lose, Remmy.I didn't know I could die.I don't want to lose that much."

They sat in silence for a while.The field was deserted: everyone had gone home."You missed your bus," Remmy said.

"I'll call Mom and ask her to pick me up," Ivonar replied dully."She knows where I am."

"Chia misses Cole… how's he doing?"

"All right.He sulks a lot though… I think he misses her, too."Ivonar went to scratch Q between the eye ridges, but Remmy already was.She scratched him under the chin instead.Q closed its eyes, smiling happily as it soaked up the attention.

"I kind of miss training."

"I thought you didn't want to train Pokémon."

"I didn't think I wanted to, either, but I gave it a chance.They really seemed to like it.Saurus has been kind of grouchy about not training that much anymore: I think he's bored."

"Except for Manx, Nuisance, and the Eevees, my Pokémon have been staying at Professor Oak's… they were sent there while I was in the hospital since nobody at home knew how to care for them.Toby insisted he could but Mom knew better than to let him."

"It's really not fair to them, is it?"

"No, not really.I should have brought Cole to see Chia… but he probably wouldn't have liked spending today in my locker."

Remmy snickered."Q didn't mind it?"

"I told it that it had to pretend to be a pokédoll until we got here.I think it slept most of the day; there really wasn't that much to do in my locker."

"I think I do miss training, though."

"Going to start again?"

"I'll think about it… probably finish the school year, though."

"I'm still thinking about it… I still have a month or two to decide.If I'm going to I can't start over until my arm's working again."

"Makes sense."

"Remmy?"

"Yeah?"

"Let's make a deal, okay?"He looked at her, still scratching Q between the eye ridges; she looked back, still scratching Q under the chin.If either looked down they would see the Pokémon was listening raptly to the conversation."We wait a couple more months.Until school gets out.Then we both start training again… or we both don't.We started together… if we're going to finish, let's finish together."

Remmy looked down at Q, who looked back up at him, awaiting his answer.He gave the Pokémon's head an affectionate rub, then held out his right hand.They shook on it."It's a deal."

The phone rang at precisely 6:34 and twenty seconds: the clock Remmy went by was a little slower than her alarm clock."MINE!" Ivonar yelled, snatching the phone off the hook with her left hand and tucking it between her shoulder and her ear.She put her still weak arm back in its sling."Hey, Remmy!"

"Hey," he replied."How was PT?"They'd both quickly gotten tired of saying "physical therapy".

"Pretty good!They let me use a ten pound weight today instead of the dinky fiver for the exercises, and sent one home with me.I think I'll be able to pick up Nuisance pretty soon."

"That's great."

"How goes the pool?"

"Okay.Grouchy almost swallowed an Oddish for poisoning it, though."Ivonar laughed."Grouchy has the strangest logic.She fits right in with my cousins…"

Ivonar giggled."I went to see the gang today.Char was acting really aloof, but I think she was happy to see me.Poe and Nuisance had a blast together: I'd almost forgotten how well they got along.The Kakuna was pretty glad to see me, too.It's been doing great with the other Beedrill with Professor Oak, though.It likes it there.How was practice?"

"Not bad, not great.Vince – the guy from the meet, the one who's helping train Pi? – his mom gave him permission to start training this summer.He's ecstatic.Says he's going to start with a Pidgeotto he's been working with for about a year.Kesia managed to convince her parents to let her train Pokémon too, I don't know how… her parents didn't want her missing school.Maybe she's only allowed to during the summer, I don't know."

"That's great, though!"

"Yeah… I'm coming back for the summer.Kesia's coming with me; Professor Oak has some starting Pokémon, and he's promised her one.You'd like her, she's pretty cool."

"Great!You know, your mom asked me to baby-sit your brother."

"For your sake I hope you said no."

"I couldn't, anyway… I'm helping out Professor Oak a few times a week.Keeps me busy.You wouldn't believe how much he does everyday.I only do some odds and ends and I get exhausted.Oh, thank you so much for sending Chia back last weekend… Cole hasn't been this happy all year."

"Chia was happy when she came back, too.She'd started getting really mopey."

"Did you hear?Opalian City isn't part of the Indigo League anymore."

"Really?I haven't heard anything."

"Maybe it's just because I've been hanging around Professor Oak's a lot lately… but yeah, it's part of the Sepia League now."

"Sepia League?"

"Yeah… Professor Mulberry is the researcher; Professor Oak used to work with her.Professor Oak says it's a really old league, and that Opalian used to be part of it until they made the Indigo League and needed some older gyms as part of it."

"A whole other league… does that mean Gary only has nine Indigo League badges now?"

"I think so.I'm pretty sure one of his badges was Opalian City's, not positive though."Ivonar looked down at her sling.She tapped her fingers on the phone, biting her lip a little."You… wanna check it out?"

"Check what out?"

"The Sepia League.I'm sure Professor Oak wouldn't mind giving us a good word… I mean, it'll be a little far from home, but… well, we got off to a rocky start.Maybe we should try training over the summer, see if it works out?Give it one more chance."

There was a long silence on the other end; Ivonar was about to speak when she heard Remmy, his voice muffled, say, "I'll be off in a minute, Violet, okay?Then it's all yours."A vague hum of Violet's voice."Eevee."A giggle.Ivonar rolled her eyes: how did he stand living with them?"Yeah, okay… Yeah, okay, sounds good."Ivonar jumped a little; though it sounded like he was repeating himself, the second "yeah, okay" was obviously directed at her."I'll be home in a few weeks… that should give you enough time in PT, right?"

"Yup, just a few more weeks, then I just have to take it easy for awhile and make sure I pack my weight if I go anywhere."

"Where are you supposed to start out for the Sepia League?"

"I think Professor Oak said Zirconium City… something like that.I'll ask."

"Okay.Violet wants to use the phone, I gotta go."

"It's okay.Talk to you soon."

"Yup.Your turn to call tomorrow."

"Yup.Talk to you then, okay?"

"Kay.She says hi, by the way."

"Hi, Violet."

"Bye."

"Bye."

Ivonar hung up the phone and headed toward her room: her therapist had said not to do more than fifty repetitions of lifts a day, but it didn't hurt that much to do a little more.She could do some while doing her homework: she _was_ right-handed.

Besides, she felt better than she had in ages.

For no reason at all, she grinned.

"_Mo-om_… not again!Don't _cry_!"

"I can't help it.Don't you start."

"Well, Kesia's here for another couple days… it'll just like me being around, just taller and with more hair."

"Don't start with _me_, either, Eevee!"

"Take good care of her, Manx."

"_Mom_…"

"Rrrow…"

"Take good care of Mom, Ten!"

"Very funny."

"You do have everything, right?You'd better be sure, you're going to be awfully far away…"

"_Mom_!I have just as much of everything as I did a week ago, and yesterday, and this morning, _and_ an hour ago!Anything I've forgotten can't be so important that we'd both forget about it.Got food, my sleeping bag, my weight, extra pokéballs, some potions, my badges, my Pokédex…"

"It's a mother's job to worry, Eevee."

"I know, Mom."

"Just making sure."

"Tell Daddy I said goodbye, okay?"

"I will."

"Bye, Mom!Bye, Kesia, great meeting you!"

"Bye, Eevee!See ya, Rem!"

"Bye, Mrs. Marain… see ya, Kes."

"Bye, Toby."

"Bye."

"Rrrrr…"

"Oh, be quiet, Manx.No way you can Fly on a Pidgeot.The sooner you're in your ball the sooner we can get to Zirconium City and I can let you out."

"Purrrrrrrrsh?"

"_Yes_, I promise I'll let you out as _soon_ as we get there… don't look at me like that.Just get in your ball, you pain in the butt."

"Thanks for the transport, Vince!"

"No problem!They'll get you there, then they'll head right home.Mom's only thing is if you let go and you don't die by falling off, you'll die when she comes and kills you."

"We'll keep that in mind…"

"You had _better_ not let go!"

"I'm not going to, Mom."

"Me either, Mrs. Marain… don't worry, we'll be okay."

"Bye!"

"Bye!"

"Be careful!"

"We will!"

"See you out there!"

"Break a leg!"

"Good luck!"

Ivonar and Remmy held on for dear life as the pair of Pidgeot took off, leaving Ivonar's mom and brother, Vince, Kesia, and Ten behind."Ready, Rem?" Ivonar shouted over the wind and flapping wings.Her pack weighed heavily on her back, but the Pidgeot didn't seem to really notice.Seven pokéballs were on her belt, one to each pouch and one clipped to the back: Char, Nuisance, Q, Manx, Sweetie, Static, Cole.Fluffball had become attached to Ten, following her everywhere: she wanted to stay behind.Sweetie was going along as a pet.

"When you are!"Drake, Chia, Fairie, Saurus, Grouch, and Pi were safely stored away in pokéballs in his pockets.

"Zirconium City, here we come!"

# Here we are, on a new adventure

# Danger lurks somewhere in the darkness

_We are set for surprises, even battle_

_We're a team, no one better mess with us_

_If we stand as one, there's nothing to fear_

_We'll beat the darkness, and we'll stay right here_

_So time after time, that's how it will be_

# Just you and me…


End file.
